Whiskers & Wings · One Hundred Famous Views of Edo · Utagawa Hiroshige, 1857
Jūmantsubo Plain at Fukagawa Susaki
An eagle looks down on a snowy Edo.
The Work
A great eagle swoops over a snowy wasteland. Mount Tsukuba rises in the distance; a lone wooden tub floats on the water.
Look Closer
The eagle is so close its wings run off the top of the frame — a daring crop. Its gaze falls on that small, lonely tub.
The Artist
One Hundred Famous Views of Edo was Hiroshige's great project in his sixties. Again and again he set a huge near object against a far view.
The Artist
The series is arranged by season, and this is one of the winter views. Snow and cold air are made mostly with white and indigo.
Japan at the Time
Jūmantsubo, "100,000 tsubo," was reclaimed from the shore in the 1720s: open marsh at the lonely edge of Edo.
Culture & Values
Falconry was the sport of the samurai, and hawks stood for power and pride; eagles, too, were painted as kings of the birds. Shōgun hunting grounds ringed Edo.
Meanwhile, in the World
In 1856 an eighteen-year-old London student, William Perkin, accidentally discovered mauve — the first synthetic dye.
Afterward
The empty plain is now part of Kōtō Ward, full of homes and parks where the eagle once circled.
Listen while you look
Ten quiet minutes with this work alone, with Eagle Over Snow and Tub On The Winter Water — or keep going through the full hour of Whiskers & Wings.
Take this print home
This work is in the Whiskers & Wings wallpaper pack — all six prints, sized for phone and desktop.
Everything from Whiskers & Wings
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