Master of ukiyo-e landscape, author of The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō
A ukiyo-e master ranked with Hokusai, and especially gifted at landscape. His Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō and One Hundred Famous Views of Edo painted the roads, post-stations, rain and snow, and four seasons of Edo-era Japan with rich poetry. His treatment of rain was singular — straight lines rendering a downpour. Van Gogh copied his work, and his composition and color directly shaped how the whole of Impressionism understood space and the fleeting moment.
In Hiroshige’s Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge, dense diagonal lines render a sudden downpour as travelers flee in disarray. Van Gogh was captivated and copied the whole print stroke by stroke. Japanese ukiyo-e’s capture of light, rain, and the instant thus crossed the ocean to become one of the nutrients of Western modern art.
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.