Hiroshige II's series 'Famous Places in Edo (Edo meisho)' (1859-62)

Introduction

It is not clear if the prints shown here are from a single series, or three separate ones; it all depends on exactly how one defines 'series'. Although they all bear the same series name, and were printed very close in time to each other, they were printed by three separate publishers. This by itself might lean towards them being a single series, since it was not uncommon for a number of publishers to co-operate to produce a series. However, the prints produced by each publisher have subtle differences among them (e.g. in title cartouche layout), and all the prints by each publisher have a consistent layout. The series has a fairly generic name, and so on its own not much can be gleaned from that.

The publishers involved (with dates of their prints) are:

• 1858 - Yamaguchiya Tōbei ('trade' name Kinkōdō)
• 1859 - Fujiokaya Keijirō (Shoeidō or Shorindō)
• 1862 - Tsutaya Kichizō (Kōeidō)

The series dates from the start of Hiroshige II's career, when he was in his early thirties. The earliest prints in the 'series' are signed 'Shigenobu', the gō given to him by his master Hiroshige I. During the period this 'series' was being produced, however, his master Hiroshige I died (in 1858), and after his death Hiroshige II started using the gō 'Hiroshige'; later prints in the 'series' are signed 'Nisei Hiroshige' ('Second Hiroshige'), and the final ones are signed with a plain 'Hiroshige'.

The Prints

Prints produced by Yamaguchiya Tōbei (Kinkōdō)

Images	Date	Signature	Title (Kanji)	Title (Rōmaji)	Title (English)	Comments
	1858/10	Shigenobu	芝 神明	Shiba Shinmei	Shiba Shinmei Shrine
	1858/10	Shigenobu	品川 汐干狩	Shinagawa shiohigari	Hunting for seafood on the shore at the Shina River
	1858/10	Shigenobu	あすか やま	Asuka-yama	Asuka Hill
	1858/10	Shigenobu	浅草 金龍山	Asakusa Kinryū-zan	Kinryū Temple in Asakusa	The Sensō Temple in Asakusa, better known by its 'mountain name', Kinryū-zan.
	1858/10	Shigenobu	上野 ??	Ueno ??
	1858/10	Shigenobu	梅やしき	Umeyashiki	Plum Garden
	1858/10	Shigenobu	新 よし原	Shin Yoshiwara	New Yoshiwara
	1858/11	Shigenobu	御てん やま	Goten-yama	Goten Hill
	1858/11	Ichiyūsai Shigenobu	神田 祭り	Kanda matsuri	Kanda Festival Parade
	1858/11	Shigenobu	湯しま 天神	Yushima Tenjin	Tenjin Shrine, Yushima Park	Although this particular print is trimmed, another copy includes the publisher and censor seals, which verify the date and publisher.
	1858/11	Shigenobu	日本 はし	Nihon-bashi	Japan Bridge (literal translation)
	1858/11	Shigenobu	目黒 不動	Meguro Fudō	Black-eyed Fudō (literal translation)	Ryūsen Temple in Meguro, commonly known as 'Meguro Fudō', from the black-eyed statue of Fudō-myōō it contains.
	ca. 1858	Shigenobu	山王 まつり	Sannō matsuri	Sannō Festival Parade	This print has been trimmed, and the publisher and censor seals are missing, but it has been assigned to this group because of similarities in cartouches, signature, etc.
	ca. 1858	Shigenobu	隅田川 まん花	Sumida-gawa manka	Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom along the Sumida River	This print has been trimmed, and the publisher and censor seals are missing, but it has been assigned to this group because of similarities in cartouches, signature, etc.

Prints produced by Fujiokaya Keijirō (Shoeidō or Shorindō)

Images	Date	Signature	Title (Kanji)	Title (Rōmaji)	Title (English)	Comments
	1859/2	Nisei Hiroshige	亀戸 梅やしき	Kameido Umeyashiki	Plum Garden at Kameido	There is some doubt about the second word (the data here is from an online source), but it has not yet been checked.
	1859/2	Nisei Hiroshige	両国 納涼	Ryōgoku nōryō	Enjoying the Evening Cool at Ryōgoku Bridge
	1859/2	Nisei Hiroshige	御殿山 花盛	Goten-yama hanazakari	Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom at Goten-yama	This print has been trimmed, and the publisher seal is missing, but it has been assigned to this group because of similarities in cartouches, signature, etc.

Prints produced by Tsutaya Kichizō (Kōeidō)

Images	Date	Signature	Title (Kanji)	Title (Rōmaji)	Title (English)	Comments
	1862/6	Hiroshige	御茶之水	Ocha-no-mizu	Tea Water Canal	This placename is often written with the character の for 'no'.
	1863/10		吉原 仲之町	Yoshiwara Nakano-chō	The Yoshiwara in the Nakano District
	1863/10	Hiroshige	外 桜田 (櫻田)	Soto Sakura-da	Outside Sakurada
	ca. 1862?	Hiroshige	梅 やしき	Ume yashiki	Plum Garden	Although no censor seal is present (to give the exact date), the signature indicates a date later than 1859.