Egon 100 / Utagawa Hiroshige

Utagawa Hiroshige

Japanese b. 1797 Egon Score: 46.5
Blue-chip
#29
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige

Egon Investment Scores

Liquidity
9/10
How easily works can be bought and sold at auction
Institutional
10/10
Museum collections, biennials, and institutional recognition
Momentum
9/10
Recent price trends, gallery moves, and market buzz
Discovery
1/10
Undervaluation opportunity relative to peer artists
Risk
1/10
Investment risk factors — higher means more volatile

Market Position

Auction Record

$2,412,320
The complete set of Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces (Rokujūyoshū meisho zue) — 69 woodblock prints plus contents page
Auction Record
Sale
Sotheby's Paris
Work
The complete set of Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces (Rokujūyoshū meisho zue) — 69 woodblock prints plus contents page
Year
2025
Notes
Each vertical ōban: approx. 37.2 x 25.5 cm. Complete sets command significantly higher prices than individual prints.
Price EUR
$2,116,500
Price USD
$2,412,320
Provenance
Gerhard Pulverer Collection (collector's seal to verso); published by Koshimuraya Heisuke, 1853–1859
Market Dynamics
Market Segments
Entry Level
Later impressions, minor series — $500–$5,000
Mass Market
Restrikes, reproductions — $50–$500 (not investment grade)
Serious Collector
Good quality lifetime or early impressions of major series — $5,000–$50,000
Institutional Collector
Complete sets, museum-quality first impressions — $100,000+
Price Trajectory
Robust and growing; 2025 record of $2.4M significantly surpassed previous benchmarks. Complete sets of major series increasingly attracting institutional and major private collector competition.
Key Value Drivers
  • Edition state: lifetime impressions vs. posthumous restrike — lifetime prints worth exponentially more
  • Completeness: complete sets command enormous premiums (often 10x–50x individual prints)
  • Subject matter: iconic designs (Sudden Shower, Plum Garden, Naruto Whirlpools) carry substantial premiums
  • Condition: extremely sensitive — light-sensitive colors fade; bright, saturated prints at premium
  • Provenance: major collection provenance (e.g., Gerhard Pulverer Collection) adds significant value
Market Liquidity
Market Depth Notes
One of the most actively traded Old Master print markets globally. Active across Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Phillips, and dozens of specialist/regional auction houses worldwide.
Egon Sell Through Rate
84%
Egon Database Lots 2025 Plus
20
Recent Average Price Prints 12mo
$4,570
Recent Average Price Paintings 12mo
$1,969
Total Auction Lots Mutualart Since 1998
9078
Sothebys 2024 Woodblock Sale Sellthrough
84% (38 of 45 lots sold)
Auction Record Meta
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Market Dynamics Meta
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Notable Recent Sales
WorkDatePrice USDSaleVs Estimate
The complete set of One Hundred Famous Views of Edo — 120 printsJuly 18, 2024$405,400Sotheby's Online, Japanese Woodblock Prints162% above low estimate of $154,300
Azuma no mori Renri no azusa (Azuma Shrine)September 2025$9,525Christie'sExceeded high estimate
Shono, hakuu (Shono: Driving Rain)September 2025$8,255Christie'sAbove estimate
No. 17 YuiSeptember 2025$2,794Christie'sAbove estimate
No. 15 YoshiwaraSeptember 2025$2,540Christie'sAbove estimate
No. 7 FujisawaSeptember 2025$1,905Christie'sBelow estimate
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Collector Intelligence
Collector Base
Global — strong demand from US, European, and Japanese collectors and institutions. Growing East Asian collector interest. Accessible entry points ($200–$2,500) attract broad base; top-tier complete sets appeal to major institutions and ultra-high-net-worth collectors.
Known Major Collectors
NameNotes
Alan MedaughLeading US collector; owns one of the largest private collections of Hiroshige outside Japan (500+ works documented in Chrysler Museum catalogue). Gifted 35 prized prints to the British Museum in 2025. Has collected Hiroshige for over 50 years.
Gerhard Pulverer (deceased)German collector whose complete Rokujūyoshū meisho zue set sold for the $2.4M record at Sotheby's Paris 2025
Upcoming Opportunities
DateNotesEvent
March 2026Includes a complete set of One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo. Preview: March 20–24, 2026.Christie's Asia Week New York — Japanese Art Sale
January–March 2026Multiple individual Hiroshige lots active (Kameyama yukibare, Bats under the Moon, etc.)Christie's Japanese Art Sales — Ongoing
Price Ranges by Category
Lower Tier
Notes
Modern reprints, heavily worn impressions. Not investment-grade.
Range
Under $500
Strong Individual Prints
Notes
Good-quality impressions of desirable designs from major series, lifetime or early posthumous
Range
$2,000–$15,000
Complete Sets Major Series
Notes
Complete sets of major series command top-tier premiums. Sotheby's 2024: $405,400 for Hyakkei set; Sotheby's Paris 2025: $2.4M for Rokujūyoshū set.
Range
$200,000–$2,400,000+
Standard Individual Prints
Notes
Later posthumous impressions, less-desirable subjects, or prints from minor series
Range
$200–$2,500
Premium Individual Prints First Edition
Notes
First-edition, lifetime impressions of iconic designs from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo or original Tōkaidō series
Range
$10,000–$100,000+
Notable Recent Sales Meta
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Collector Intelligence Meta
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Institutional Presence

Museums
NameLocationHoldingsTier
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York, USAExtensive — hundreds of prints. Acquisition history dates to 1911 (Francis Lathrop Collection, Frederick C. Hewitt Fund).1
Art Institute of ChicagoChicago, USAExtensive — major collection of ukiyo-e prints including hundreds of Hiroshige works. Currently displaying works as of 2025.1
Smithsonian Institution (National Museum of Asian Art)Washington D.C., USASignificant collection across Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery1
Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland, USAConfirmed collection holdings per primary museum database1
Victoria & Albert MuseumLondon, UKConfirmed collection holdings per primary museum database1
British MuseumLondon, UKMajor collection; landmark 2025 solo retrospective (first at BM, first in London in 25+ years). Accepted major gift of 35 prints from Alan Medaugh.1
Brooklyn MuseumNew York, USAImportant collection; features early Edo-period impressions1
RijksmuseumAmsterdam, NetherlandsMajor Japanese print collection including Hiroshige works1
Museum of Fine Arts, BostonBoston, USAImportant Japanese print collection; known for high-quality Hiroshige impressions1
Chrysler Museum of ArtNorfolk, Virginia, USAHosted major Alan Medaugh Collection exhibition; published 500-entry catalogue Hiroshige: Nature and the City2
Hiroshige Museum of Art, ŌbaShizuoka Prefecture, JapanDedicated museum to Hiroshige's life and work2
Ōta Memorial Museum of Art (Ukiyo-e Ōta Kinen Bijutsukan)Tokyo, JapanMajor ukiyo-e collection including extensive Hiroshige holdings2
Europeana (European Museums aggregate)Multiple European institutionsConfirmed presence across European museum members per primary database2
Exhibitions
TitleDatesVenueLocationSignificanceType
Hiroshige: Artist of the Open RoadMay 1 – September 7, 2025British Museum, Joseph Hotung Great Court GalleryLondon, UKFirst Hiroshige exhibition at the British Museum; first major London show in 25+ years. Features prints, drawings, illustrated books, paintings from BM collection plus major loans from Alan Medaugh and international lenders.Major solo retrospective
Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road — Digital ExtensionMay 14 – September 7, 2025The Outernet, Charing Cross RoadLondon, UKFirst time BM took exhibition to London streets; Fuji River view across 23,000 sq ft 16K wraparound screens at world's most advanced immersive spaceImmersive digital exhibition
Hiroshige: Nature and the CityChrysler Museum of ArtNorfolk, Virginia, USABased on Alan Medaugh Collection — one of the largest private collections outside Japan. 500-entry scholarly catalogue published.Major survey exhibition
Japanese Woodblock Prints (Sotheby's)July 11–18, 2024Sotheby's OnlineHiroshige I led the $1.17M total sale; complete Hyakkei set sold for $405,400Auction / market exhibition
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Exhibitions Meta
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Major Publications Catalogues
TitleYearAuthorPublisher
The Colour Prints of HiroshigeEdward F. Strange
Hiroshige: Prints and Drawings1997Matthi ForrerRoyal Academy of Arts, London
Hiroshige's Journey in the 60-odd Provinces2004Marije Jansen
Rokujuyoshu meisho zue: Puruvera korekushon1996Tokyo
Hiroshige: Nature and the City
Hiroshige: artist of the open road2025British Museum
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Career & Biography

Identity
Era
Edo period (1603–1868)
Gender
Male
Full Name
Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川 広重)
Birth Date
1797
Birth Year
1797
Death Date
October 12, 1858
Nationality
Japanese
Active Period
c. 1811–1858
Also Known As
Andō Hiroshige (安藤 広重)Andō Tokutarō (安藤 徳太郎)Ichiryūsai HiroshigeIchiyūsai Hiroshige
Birth Location
Edo (present-day Tokyo), Japan
Death Location
Edo (present-day Tokyo), Japan
Identity Meta
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Personal Life
Burial
Zen Buddhist temple in Asakusa, Tokyo
Death Poem
I leave my brush in the East / And set forth on my journey / I shall see the famous places in the Western Land (dual reference to the Tōkaidō and to the paradise of Amida Buddha)
Family Background
Son of a low-ranking samurai family serving as fire wardens in Edo
Career Timeline
YearEvent
1797Born as Andō Tokutarō into a low-ranking samurai family serving as fire wardens in Edo
c. 1809–1811Both parents died within months of each other; inherited father's fire warden position at age ~13; began painting shortly thereafter
c. 1811Began formal training under Utagawa Toyohiro; received art name 'Hiroshige'
c. 1812–1820sEarliest prints followed ukiyo-e tradition of women and kabuki actors in Edo's pleasure districts
c. 1820s–early 1830sEncountered Hokusai's work; began shifting toward landscapes. Changed signature to 'Ichiyūsai'
1829–1830First landscape series: Eight Famous Views of Ōmi — first revelations of his true genius
1832Passed fire warden duties to son Nakajirō; joined official procession along the Tōkaidō highway to Kyoto, sketching landscapes along the way
1833–1834Published The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō — catapulted to contemporary fame
1834–1835Followed with Illustrated Places of Naniwa, Famous Places of Kyoto, Eight Views of Ōmi
1840s–1850sPeak productivity: Famous Places of the Sixty-odd Provinces (1853–59), Sixty-nine Stations of Kiso Kaidō, Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji, and numerous other series
1856Became a Buddhist monk ('retired from the world'); began One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
1856–1858Created One Hundred Famous Views of Edo — 120 single-sheet prints — final masterwork
October 12, 1858Died aged 62 during the great Edo cholera epidemic; buried in a Zen Buddhist temple in Asakusa. Left a farewell poem.
Studio Practice
Output
Created over 8,000 woodblock print designs across his career, as well as hundreds of paintings and dozens of illustrated books; approximately 5,000+ designs for color woodblock prints alone.
Working Method
Print series typically developed from sketches made during travels; did not always visit locations personally (later series relied on maps and others' accounts). Collaborated with publishers, block carvers, and printers in the traditional ukiyo-e production chain.
Financial Situation
Despite enormous productivity and popularity, Hiroshige was not wealthy — his commissions were less than those of other in-demand artists, earning approximately twice the wages of a day laborer.
Personal Life Meta
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Career Timeline Meta
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Studio Practice Meta
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Education and Training
Notes
Initially rejected by Utagawa Toyokuni — the more prominent Utagawa master — before being accepted by Toyohiro. Also studied the Chinese-influenced Nanga painting style under Ōoka Umpō and absorbed Shijō school ink wash techniques. Received the art name 'Hiroshige' from Toyohiro in recognition of his talent.
School
Utagawa school of ukiyo-e
Primary Master
Utagawa Toyohiro (Utagawa school), c. 1811 onward
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Artistic Influences and Context
Contemporaries
Katsushika HokusaiUtagawa KuniyoshiUtagawa Kunisada
Artistic School
Utagawa school of ukiyo-e
Primary Influence
Katsushika Hokusai (whose Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, 1830–32, inspired Hiroshige to focus on landscapes)
Historical Position
Considered the last great master of the ukiyo-e tradition; his death in 1858 marked the beginning of a rapid decline in the genre in the face of Meiji-era Westernization
Additional Influences
Chinese Nanga painting traditionShijō school ink wash techniquesJippensha Ikku's Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige (travel comedy)
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Artistic Profile

Artistic Style
Summary
Hiroshige is the supreme master of atmospheric Japanese landscape — poetic, ambient, deeply felt. His prints capture ephemeral weather conditions, seasons, and mood with unparalleled subtlety. His approach is fundamentally different from Hokusai's bold formalism — where Hokusai dramatizes, Hiroshige poeticizes.
Distinctive Qualities
  • Mastery of atmospheric conditions: mist, rain, snow, fog, moonlight, and seasonal change rendered with supreme delicacy
  • Bokashi technique: graduated color printing through multiple impressions in the same area; creates luminous sky gradations and misty distances
  • Unusual vantage points: bird's-eye views, dramatic foreground cropping, diagonal compositions
  • Kiri (cut) compositional device: creates expansive sense of space and depth
  • Subtle, saturated color palette: often dominated by blues, greens, and grays with strategic accents
  • Integration of poetry (haiku and waka) into compositions
  • Human figures appear small against vast landscapes, emphasizing nature's power
Primary Themes
  • Meisho-e (pictures of famous places) — topographic landscape poetry in visual form
  • Travel and the road — the Tōkaidō highway as metaphor for life's journey
  • Seasons and weather — Japanese aesthetic of mono no aware (pathos of impermanence)
  • Everyday life in Edo — merchants, pilgrims, laborers, pleasure-seekers
  • Nature: mountains, rivers, rain, snow, moonlight, birds, and flowers
  • Urban Edo (Tokyo): canals, bridges, festivals, markets, shrines, temples
Signature Series
TitleDatesDescriptionNotesPublisher
The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō1833–183455 horizontal ōban prints depicting 53 post stations plus endpoints. Hiroshige's magnum opus and breakthrough work. Followed by 20+ additional Tōkaidō series (~700 total Tōkaidō prints).Hōeidō and Senkakudō
One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)1856–1858120 vertical ōban prints in radical vertical format with bold close-up cropping. Final masterwork; most directly influential on Western Impressionism. Complete sets: $405,400 at Sotheby's 2024.Uoya Eikichi
Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces (Rokujūyoshū meisho zue)1853–185969 vertical ōban prints plus contents page; one per province of Japan. Complete Pulverer Collection set: $2,412,320 at Sotheby's Paris 2025 — artist auction record.Koshimuraya Heisuke
Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō1835–1842Collaborative series with Keisai Eisen; depicts alternate Edo-Kyoto mountain route
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji1852–1858Hiroshige's response to Hokusai's famous Fuji series
Eight Famous Views of Ōmi1829–1830First landscape series; pivotal shift away from figure subjects
Artistic Style Meta
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Primary Themes Meta
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Stylistic Evolution
Late Period 1848 to 1858
Vertical format experimentation; One Hundred Famous Views of Edo shows radical compositional innovation — extreme close-ups, unexpected vantage points, bold color. Final transcendent period.
Early Career 1811 to 1830
Conventional ukiyo-e subjects — bijinga (beautiful women), yakusha-e (kabuki actors). Working within Utagawa school conventions.
Mature Period 1833 to 1848
Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō and follow-up series; horizontal format, warm palette, narrative vignettes. Peak commercial success.
Pivotal Transition 1829 to 1833
Shift to landscape; Eight Famous Views of Ōmi shows first breakthrough. Hokusai's Fuji series visible influence.
Movements and Periods
Primary
Ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world), 17th–19th century Japan
Sub Genres
Meisho-e (topographic/landscape prints), kacho-ga (bird-and-flower prints)
Historical Period
Late Edo period (1830–1858) — final flowering of ukiyo-e
Western Resonance
Japonisme — profound influence on Western Impressionism and Post-Impressionism
Signature Series Meta
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Stylistic Evolution Meta
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Techniques and Materials
Painting
Also produced scroll paintings in ink and mineral pigments
Key Technique
Bokashi (color gradation): labor-intensive technique applying uneven ink to the block before printing to create graduated tones — used extensively for sky, water, and atmospheric effects
Primary Medium
Polychrome woodblock printing (nishiki-e) — Edo-period technique using multiple carved wooden blocks (one per color) with registration marks
Other Techniques
Multiple color impressions over same area for depthBlind embossing (karazuri) for textureMica printing (kirara-zuri) for luminous effectsMetallic pigments
Illustrated Books
Dozens of illustrated books (ehon) across career
Movements and Periods Meta
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Key Influences on Western Art
  • Claude Monet — atmospheric color and light
  • Vincent van Gogh — directly copied Hiroshige prints in oil paint
  • Edgar Degas — asymmetrical composition and unusual viewpoints
  • Paul Gauguin — bold color and decorative flatness
  • James McNeill Whistler — nocturnal atmosphere and economy of means
  • Georges Seurat — color theory and atmosphere
  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec — poster design and bold outline
  • Frank Lloyd Wright — organic integration of structure and nature
  • Hayao Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli — compositional language, scale relationships, atmospheric landscapes
Techniques and Materials Meta
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Critical Reception

Critical Consensus
Utagawa Hiroshige is universally recognized as one of the greatest printmakers in art history and 'the last great master of the ukiyo-e tradition.' His work fundamentally transformed Western art through the Japonisme movement of the late 19th century.
Scholarly Recognition
Japonisme
Hiroshige's work is a central case study in Japonisme — the influence of Japanese aesthetics on 19th-century European art — studied across art history curricula globally.
Academic Consensus
Foundational figure in the study of Japanese art history, Japonisme, and the art-historical relationship between East and West. Subject of extensive scholarly monographs and catalogues raisonnés.
Art Historical Position
Positioned alongside Katsushika Hokusai as the defining figures of late ukiyo-e; generally considered complementary — Hokusai bold and formal, Hiroshige poetic and atmospheric.
Publications and Media
Recent Coverage
Telegraph featured Hiroshige in Best Art Exhibitions of 2025; Artnet News: 'Who Was Hiroshige, the Artist Behind Japan's Most Iconic Prints?' (2025); HENI reported Sotheby's 2024 sale led by Hiroshige I
Feature Articles
Daily Art MagazineForbesFAD MagazineThe Telegraph (Best Art Exhibitions of 2025, November 2025)Artnet News
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Western Critical Reception
Architecture
Frank Lloyd Wright cited Hiroshige as an influence
Monet Connection
Monet became an eager collector of Japanese woodblock prints; Hiroshige's bokashi gradient technique visibly influenced Monet's treatment of atmosphere and light
Historical Impact
Hiroshige's prints arrived in Europe primarily after his death, where they became enormously influential on Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Artists who collected and were directly influenced include Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and James McNeill Whistler.
Van Gogh Connection
Van Gogh copied two prints from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo directly in oil paint; Japanese prints are visible in the background of his Portrait of Père Tanguy (1887)
Contemporary Culture
Sotheby's: 'His revolutionary use of perspective and cropping may even have foreshadowed animation styles such as those seen in the works of the widely acclaimed Studio Ghibli animator Hayao Miyazaki.'
Japanese Critical Reception
Contemporary Status
Considered relatively modest in social standing during his lifetime — not recognized by Japan's cultured elite. Fame grew internationally first, then Japan re-appraised his work.
Quote Edward Strange
'Outside his own little circle of friends and customers Hiroshige was a man of small importance in Japan. The cultured classes knew him not; and it is only since his work has begun to gain its great and growing reputation in Europe and America, that he is beginning to be appreciated in his own country.' — Edward F. Strange
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