Hanga
Higashi-dai no oka 東台乃桜花 / Hana bijin meisho awase 花美人名所合 by Ogata Gekko — Japanese Woodblock print

Higashi-dai no oka 東台乃桜花 / Hana bijin meisho awase 花美人名所合

by Ogata Gekko

Medium:
Woodblock print
Image courtesy of
British Museum

Description

This print from the 'Hana bijin meisho awase' (Matching Famous Places with Beauties and Flowers) series depicts Higashidai no oka, a hill known for its cherry blossoms, pairing a female figure with the sakura viewing season at this named location. The meisho-e framework locates the beauty within a recognizable Tokyo landscape, while the 'awase' (matching) structure creates a formal correspondence between the woman's appearance and the cherry blossom season. The composition likely shows the figure amid or beneath flowering cherry trees rendered with the pale-pink gradated bokashi typical of sakura prints, with the hill's topography providing spatial depth. This series type was characteristic of Meiji publishers' interest in combining bijin-ga commercial appeal with documentary interest in named urban flower-viewing sites.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Higashi-dai no oka 東台乃桜花 / Hana bijin meisho awase 花美人名所合 was created by Ogata Gekko (尾形月耕).

Higashi-dai no oka 東台乃桜花 / Hana bijin meisho awase 花美人名所合 depicts bijin-ga.