Flathead (Kochi) and Eggplants (Nasubi), from the series A Shoal of Fishes (Uo-zukushi)

Issued in 1868, this sheet from Utagawa Hiroshige's A Shoal of Fishes (Uo-zukushi) series pairs a long-snouted flathead (kochi) with a cluster of eggplants (nasubi). The combination invokes a familiar Edo proverb about lucky New Year dreams, where Mount Fuji, hawks, and eggplants together are emblems of auspicious fortune, and where seasonal fish carried their own everyday symbolism. Hiroshige composes the flathead as a long, low diagonal across the sheet, building its mottled, almost lizard-like body from greys, ochres, and subtle pinks. The eggplants supply a deep purple counterweight, their glossy surfaces achieved through layered bokashi printings. Brief verse inscribed above the fish ties the image to the literary culture that surrounded Edo ukiyo-e production, where prints, poetry, and shared seasonal knowledge fed one another. Although Uo-zukushi sits in the kacho-e tradition rather than the landscape print category for which Hiroshige is best known, the series shows the same compositional precision that defined his Tokaido and Edo views. The Harvard Art Museums impression preserves the saturated purples and the careful gradations of the fish that mark fine early printings.