Clearing Weather at Awazu (Awazu seiran), from the series "Eight Views of Omi (Omi hakkei no uchi)"
- Series:
- Eight Views of Omi (print 5 of 1)
- Date:
- c. 1834
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; oban
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Typical Price
- Later reprint (Meiji–Taisho era publishers): $50–$400
- Good later impression (Edo-period, worn blocks): $1,500–$8,000
- Good early impression (fine bokashi, vivid color): $8,000–$30,000
- Fine early impression (exceptional atmospheric quality): $30,000–$80,000
Hiroshige transformed Japanese landscape printing through his mastery of bokashi (gradated wash) technique and sensitivity to weather, season, and light. His atmospheric landscapes directly influenced Impressionist painters in Europe after Japanese prints reached the West in the 1860s.
Description
Awazu, at the southern tip of Lake Biwa, is depicted after rain has cleared — the air washed clean, the surface of the lake bright under breaking clouds. This print from the "Eight Views of Omi" series corresponds to the classical "clearing weather" scene (seiran) that was one of the eight canonical views of Lake Biwa borrowed from the Chinese tradition of Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers.
More Prints by Utagawa Hiroshige
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Clearing Weather at Awazu (Awazu seiran), from the series "Eight Views of Omi (Omi hakkei no uchi)" was created by Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重) in c. 1834.
Yes — Clearing Weather at Awazu (Awazu seiran), from the series "Eight Views of Omi (Omi hakkei no uchi)" is part of the Eight Views of Omi series (print 5 of 1) by Utagawa Hiroshige.
Clearing Weather at Awazu (Awazu seiran), from the series "Eight Views of Omi (Omi hakkei no uchi)" depicts landscapes, eight views of ōmi, and eight views (hakkei).