Minneapolis Institute of Art

Irises at Horikiri

Utagawa Hiroshige; Publisher: Sakanaya Eikichi

Date: 1857, intercalary 5th month
Medium: Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Department: Asian Art
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Art

Even today, irises in the Horikiri Iris Garden, in Katsushika Ward, are in full bloom from early to mid-June. Yet the garden’s six thousand flowers are only a fraction of those grown in the many iris plantations that existed here during the Edo period (1603–1868). Most famous was hanashōbu, or Japanese water iris, that thrived in a wet environment; many varieties of it were developed for commercial purposes. Hiroshige offered a memorable close-up view of three of these beloved plants in the foreground of this print. The print on the left is the first version of nine. The print on the right is the more simplified version no. 3, with the water in a darker, evenly printed blue. Asia

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