Cleveland Museum of Art

The Moon-Viewing Promontory, from One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo

Date

1857

Medium

color woodblock print

Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Here, Utagawa Hiroshige’s design places the viewer by pine trees, peering beyond a doorway at the end of a moon-viewing party. The silhouette of a figure with an elaborate hairstyle is visible through a translucent paper door; only the person’s hem trails into view. Another individual remains seated on the floor in the upper right, near a musical instrument and a tray with blue-and-white ceramics, possibly still admiring the autumn moon over ships in Edo (now Tokyo) Bay. Beginning in the 700s, the Japanese held moon-viewing parties in celebration of the full moon during the late summer and autumn months. A full moon is visible in this print.

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