Ando Hiroshige,

Japanese, 1797 – 1858

Buddhist Robe Hanging Pine Tree on the Shore of Senzoku Pond (Senzoku no Ike Kesakake Matsu), circa 1856

Woodblock print

Public domain

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Sullivan

1986.097

Ando Hiroshige was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist who was well-known for his vertical-format landscape series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. 118 woodblocks in vertical format depicting classic Hiroshige landscapes constitute this series, of which Buddhist Robe Hanging Pine Tree on the Shore of Senzoku Pond is a part of that series. Ukiyo-e, or the ‘images of the floating world’ is a central component of the woodblock print. Ukiyo-e is referred to as the ‘images of the floating world’ for three reasons: 1) It is related to the Buddhist idea, that the world is a floating illusion; 2) Woodblock prints originated from depictions of adult pleasure districts, further accentuating Buddhism’s idea of the floating world 3)Woodblock prints symbolize the Japanese artists’ struggles during that time of attempting to incorporate their newly learned western painting perspectives (extend horizontally) into their traditional perspective (adopted from China, extend vertically). This struggle, especially in the early woodblock prints, led to a sense of ‘floating’ between the foreground and the background of the prints. On the other hand, Buddhist Robe Hanging Pine Tree on the Shore of Senzoku Pond depicts Senzoku Pond with the Robe-Hanging Pine Tree. The tree received its name from a legend about a Buddhist priest, Nichiren, who once stopped at Senzoku Pond and hung his kesa (a sash-like garment) on a nearby pine. This print thus enriches a view of nature with a religious story. Combining the religious context of woodblock prints with a religiously enriched natural scene makes this work an exceptional example of the spirituality of the natural world.