Who painted Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Awa Province: Inner Bay at Kominato, and when?

Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Awa Province: Inner Bay at Kominato is by Utagawa Hiroshige, made in 1853 (Kaei 6). Medium: Woodblock print (ukiyo-e).

What place does Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Awa Province: Inner Bay at Kominato show?

It shows Kominato, Kamogawa (Chiba).

Where can I see Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Awa Province: Inner Bay at Kominato?

It is held by Tokyo National Museum, National Diet Library. Exhibitions change, so check each museum's information before you visit.

Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces ・ 18

Awa Province: Inner Bay at Kominato

六十余州名所図会安房小湊内浦

This looks down on Uchiura at Kominato in Awa Province from a pass road. Sailing ships float in a quiet cove embraced by green mountains, houses stretch along the shore, and the open sea lies beyond the mouth of the bay. It is a port known as the birthplace of Nichiren.

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige
Date: 1853 (Kaei 6)
Medium / format: Woodblock print (ukiyo-e)
Series: Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces 69 prints
Place depicted: Kominato, Kamogawa（Chiba）

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About this work

The foreground is a green slope with pines, where travelers go down a road in the valley. At the beach at the end of the valley, a few house roofs peek out, and from there the cove opens wide. Ships with sails raised and lowered float in the cove, and on the left shore a row of houses and a sandy beach continue narrowly.

Behind the cove, green mountains overlap layer upon layer, and the ridge descends to the right and drops into the sea. Two rocks stand side by side at the mouth of the bay, and the horizon beyond is dyed red. The composition has the foreground slopes pushing in from left and right, so the cove appears to be peered into.

Kominato is known as the place where Nichiren was born, and Tanjo-ji drew many pilgrims even in the Edo period. Because of a tradition that sea bream gathered in the sea when Nichiren was born, the sea bream of Uchiura have been protected, with catching them forbidden.

In this design the calm cove surrounded by mountains, rather than the temple, is the star. By adding small figures of travelers coming down the pass, it also conveys the feeling of a journey that crosses the mountains and arrives at a port town. The impressions at the National Diet Library and the Tokyo National Museum have the same composition.

The place today

Kominato is in today's Kamogawa City, Chiba Prefecture, and Tanjo-ji, said to have been built on the site of Nichiren's birthplace, stands near the harbor. Uchiura's "Tai no Ura" is designated a Special Natural Monument as a rare place where red sea bream gather in shallow water, and you can see the schools of sea bream from sightseeing boats.

Where can I see it?

Exhibitions change over time. Check each museum's exhibition information before you visit.

Museums that hold this work

Tokyo National Museum
Taito City, Tokyo　Accession no. A-12499-211
Museum's page for this work (opens in a new tab)
National Diet Library
Chiyoda City, Tokyo　Accession no. 寄別1-9-2-4
Included in Dai Nihon Rokujuyoshu Meisho Zue
Museum's page for this work (opens in a new tab)

Museums abroad

Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago　Accession no. 1965.964
Museum's page for this work (opens in a new tab)

Frequently asked questions

Who painted Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Awa Province: Inner Bay at Kominato, and when?: Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Awa Province: Inner Bay at Kominato is by Utagawa Hiroshige, made in 1853 (Kaei 6). Medium: Woodblock print (ukiyo-e).
What place does Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Awa Province: Inner Bay at Kominato show?: It shows Kominato, Kamogawa (Chiba).
Where can I see Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Awa Province: Inner Bay at Kominato?: It is held by Tokyo National Museum, National Diet Library. Exhibitions change, so check each museum's information before you visit.