Announcing the 'Hiroshige: artist of the open road' exhibition

A remarkable new exhibition at the British Museum will celebrate the life, work, and legacy of Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), one of Japan's most popular and prolific artists. Hiroshige's thoughtful and engaging way of depicting landscape, nature and daily life in Japan captivated viewers in his own day, and he continues to influence and inspire. The first exhibition on Hiroshige in London for quarter of a century, and the first ever at the British Museum, Hiroshige: artist of the open road will present this major Japanese artist through his prints, paintings, books and sketches. 

The great majority of the prints in the exhibition have never been displayed before, and several are believed to be the only surviving examples of their kind in the world. The exhibition marks a major gift of 35 Hiroshige prints to the American Friends of the British Museum from the collection of Alan Medaugh, a leading US collector of the artist's work. These will be shown alongside 82 other stunning prints by Hiroshige, generously loaned by Medaugh, as well as key national and international loans, and important works chosen from the Museum collection.

Utagawa Hiroshige's 40-year career coincided with the last decades of Japan's Edo period (1615–1868), a time of rapid change presaging the end of samurai rule. As Japan confronted the encroaching outside world and the pressures of modernisation, Hiroshige's calm artistic vision encouraged a sense of continuity and hope. Across around 5,000 designs for colour woodblock prints, as well as hundreds of paintings and dozens of illustrated books, he offered aesthetic pleasure and emotional solace to people at every level of society in an age of transformation. 

From fashionable figures in his early career, to quiet city views, remote landscapes and impressions of nature in his mature years, Hiroshige captured many aspects of life in contemporary Japan. A superb colourist, he discovered a subtle lyricism in the experience of travel, and a bond between people and the natural world. In landscape series such as the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Highway (1833–35), he expressed the growing interest in domestic travel, devoting more than 20 series to this one highway alone. 

Twenty years later with renewed vigour in the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856–58), he boldly expanded the classical concept of 'famous places' (meisho). His landscape prints became treasured souvenirs and vehicles for imaginative escape. They were not strict representations of place but evocations in which he blended direct observation and study of guidebooks with artistic flair and cultural resonance. A full section of the exhibition explores Hiroshige's main travel series and presents some of the finest surviving examples of major designs from the One Hundred Views, along with pristine examples of less-familiar designs from this series.

Possessed of outstanding technical skills as both a colourist and draftsman, Hiroshige stands out also for crossing social boundaries. Born into a samurai family, he chose to create accessible art for a popular audience. His inclusive vision is evident in his designs for hand-held printed fans (uchiwa-e), a practical, affordable and disposable art form that served to find a place for beauty in daily life. This aspect of his work is seldom exhibited outside Japan and will comprise one of the main sections of the exhibition. Unique examples, such as from the series Eight Views of Stations along the Main and Secondary Roads (about 1839), will be on display for the first time. 

Also on show are Hiroshige's exquisite bird-and-flower prints produced throughout his career which reflect both his natural artistic elegance and the relatively high level of literacy reached during the period, as they often include a Japanese or Chinese poem inscribed in flowing calligraphy. Signalling an appreciation for art shared across social classes, they highlight the profound connections in Japanese culture between nature, art and poetry. 

As well as exploring Hiroshige's diverse strengths, this exhibition considers his global legacy and how his innovative compositions, vibrant colours and deep understanding of pictorial perspective have inspired European masters such as Van Gogh and Whistler, as well as contemporary artists worldwide, including Julian Opie. Hiroshige: artist of the open road offers audiences a vivid insight into Hiroshige's own world, where nature, culture, and imagination effortlessly coincide, and reinforces his place as an artistic visionary of international standing.