Picture of a Mercantile Establishment in Yokohama, 1861

Medium:: Woodblock print
Format:: Oban
Source:: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

Typical Price

Later reprint (Meiji–Taisho era publishers): $50–$400
Good later impression (Edo-period): $1,000–$5,000
Good early impression (vivid color, fine bokashi): $5,000–$20,000
Fine early impression (exceptional color and condition): $20,000–$60,000

Hiroshige produced an estimated 8,000 designs over his 40-year career, making him one of the most prolific masters of ukiyo-e. His market has strengthened significantly in recent years, with the 2025 Sotheby's Paris record of $2.4M and growing international collector interest.

Description

A mercantile establishment in the Yokohama foreign settlement, 1861 — one of the Western trading houses that had established themselves following the 1858 commercial treaties. Hiroshige's print shows the building in its new port-city context, with Western architectural details and perhaps foreign merchants in the foreground, a commercial scene reflecting the abrupt opening of Japan to international trade in the final years of the Edo period.