Aido Shrine

Aido Shrine

Ando Hiroshige
Edo, Japan (1797 - 1858)

c. 1850

color woodblock print

Hiroshige is known as the “artist of rain, snow, and mist”. Born as Ando Tokutaro, he was to follow the career of his father as a fire watchman. In 1811, he was a pupil of Toyohiro. In 1812, he officially became accepted into the Utagawa School. Through this, he took his post as a fire watchman until 1823 when he passed it on to his son. He began his career producing actor prints. At age 31 when his master died, he turned to landscape prints. Hiroshige’s work was an ideal image of what he saw in his mind. What he did was to adapt and alter the landscape details and also the seasons to suit the moods he envisioned.