Who painted Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Kii Province: Wakanoura Bay, and when?

Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Kii Province: Wakanoura Bay is by Utagawa Hiroshige, made in 1855 (Ansei 2). Medium: Woodblock print (ukiyo-e).

Where can I see Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Kii Province: Wakanoura Bay?

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 ・ 53

Kii Province: Wakanoura Bay

六十余州名所図会紀伊和歌之浦

This print shows Wakanoura in Kii Province (Wakayama Prefecture) together with cranes flying overhead. At the top of the picture two cranes spread their wings wide, and below them spread an inlet and islands, a small island with a pagoda, and distant mountains dyed by the sunset.

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige
Date: 1855 (Ansei 2)
Medium / format: Woodblock print (ukiyo-e)
Series: Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces 69 prints
Place depicted: Wakanoura（Wakayama）

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About this work

In the upper part of the picture a white crane and a bluish crane fly with wings spread wide, with several small cranes dancing below them. In the middle, green capes and islands surround the inlet, and a pagoda can be seen on the small island at center. In the foreground are the choppy sea and young pines growing on the shore.

This is a print of bold perspective, with cranes placed large in the foreground and distant islands and mountains drawn small. The indigo of the sea, the green of the islands, and the red shading at the horizon form layers that set off the whiteness of the cranes.

Wakanoura has been a poetic place name sung in verse since the Nara period, and is known for Yamabe no Akahito's poem "As the tide comes in at Waka-no-ura, the tidal flats vanish, and the cranes cry as they head for the reeds." The cranes are thought to be based on this poem, and the pagoda on the island is said to be the Tahoto pagoda on Imoseyama built in the Edo period.

Published in Ansei 2 (1855), it is placed after Nagato in the series. Impressions with the same composition are held by the Tokyo National Museum and the National Diet Library. Drawing birds large in the foreground is a device from Hiroshige's late years, shared with the eagle in "Fukagawa Susaki and Jumantsubo" of the later One Hundred Famous Views of Edo.

The place today

Wakanoura was designated a Place of Scenic Beauty in 2010, with sites such as the Kaizen-in Tahoto on Imoseyama, Kishu Toshogu Shrine, and Tamatsushima Shrine scattered around it. Together with the broad tidal flats of Katao-nami Beach, it is a seaside scenic area where one can still feel the scenery sung in poetry since the days of the Manyoshu.

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-12499-246
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National Diet Library
Chiyoda City, Tokyo　Accession no. 寄別1-9-2-4
Included in Dai Nihon Rokujuyoshu Meisho Zue
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Museums abroad

Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago　Accession no. 1965.995
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Frequently asked questions

Who painted Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Kii Province: Wakanoura Bay, and when?: Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Kii Province: Wakanoura Bay is by Utagawa Hiroshige, made in 1855 (Ansei 2). Medium: Woodblock print (ukiyo-e).
What place does Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Kii Province: Wakanoura Bay show?: It shows Wakanoura (Wakayama).
Where can I see Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Kii Province: Wakanoura Bay?: It is held by Tokyo National Museum, National Diet Library. Exhibitions change, so check each museum's information before you visit.