Introduction:
Japanese art in Western culture is often associated with the Ukiyo-e prints of the seventeenth century, including those by Utagawa Hiroshige. The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido and One Hundred Views of Edo are often considerred Hiroshige's most well-known series. Hiroshige extended the tradition of Ukiyo prints and challenged concepts regarding traditional representation of famous Japanese places. His incorporation of Western perspective, through a use of traditional representational modes, created a rich and dynamic visual-vocabulary for his series. Hiroshige's influence can be seen in the works of Western artists, such as Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, and James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Plum Estate, Kameido (print #30) provides viewers with a look at an estate in Kameido-Tokyo, Japan, and is connected to the spring series of One Hundred Views of Edo. The image is one Hiroshige's best known pieces and was reproduced by Vincent van Gogh in 1887. The eclectic nature of this print, its flat shapes and unique perspective, seems reminiscent of a time of blossoming in Edo. The work speaks profoundly to the Japanese tradition and woodblock printmaking.