#31. Tepposu Inari

Medium:

Woodblock print

Format:

Oban

Source:

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

Typical Price

Later reprint (Meiji–Taisho era publishers): $100–$600
Good later impression (Edo-period, worn blocks): $3,000–$12,000
Good early impression (vivid bokashi, crisp key lines): $12,000–$40,000
Fine early impression (exceptional color freshness and condition): $40,000–$100,000

From Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856–58), a 118-print series of vertical oban landscapes and genre scenes that defined the visual image of Edo for generations. A complete set sold for $405,400 at Sotheby's Online Jul 2024.

Description

Tepposu Inari was a small fox shrine on reclaimed land near the mouth of the Sumida River, surrounded by the warehouses and timber yards of the bayside district. Inari shrines were among the most numerous in Edo, associated with commerce and good fortune. This numbered Edo view captures the shrine and its working harbor surroundings, a corner of the city shaped by the rhythms of maritime trade.