Kasumigaseki, from the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho) - Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Archival giclée
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Description
A woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi depicting the Kasumigaseki district of Edo, featuring pedestrians on a steep, walled street.
This woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi depicts the Kasumigaseki area of Edo, present-day Tokyo. It belongs to the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho), a collection that documents the urban environment of the city during the late Edo period. Kuniyoshi employs a strong, symmetrical perspective, using the flanking walls of the daimyo residences to draw the eye toward the centre of the composition. The steep incline of the road creates a sense of depth, while the figures in the foreground provide a human scale to the imposing architecture.
The print features a group of pedestrians walking up the slope. A woman holding a parasol and a man carrying a bundle walk away from the viewer, while another figure approaches from the right. To the left, a labourer pushes a cart laden with goods. The sky is rendered with a distinct horizontal gradient, a technique often used in Ukiyo-e to suggest the transition of light or time of day. The colour palette remains restrained, relying on earthy tones for the ground and architecture, contrasted against the deep blue of the sky.
Kuniyoshi was a member of the Utagawa school, known for his versatility in subjects ranging from warrior prints to caricatures. In this series, he demonstrates an interest in the changing topography of Edo. The architecture shown here reflects the rigid, fortified nature of the district, which housed the residences of high-ranking samurai. The print captures a quiet moment of daily life within a structured, urban setting. The use of clean lines and balanced composition reflects the technical precision of the woodblock printing process during this era. This work offers a view into the visual culture of nineteenth-century Japan, documenting both the physical layout of the city and the attire of its inhabitants.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
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To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
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Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Kasumigaseki, from the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho) - Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Artist Biography
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
For the first thirteen years he struggled. The breakthrough came in 1827 with a commission to illustrate the 108 Heroes of the Suikoden, a Chinese adventure novel. He drew tattooed warriors in dynamic poses that broke out of the frame, the tattoos rendered with a detail that started a fashion in Edo. The series was enormously popular and established him as the leading designer of warrior prints.
He loved cats. His studio was always full of them, and he often worked with a kitten tucked inside his kimono. When a cat died, he sent it to a nearby temple, and he kept a Buddhist altar for his deceased cats at home. Cats appear constantly in his prints: as substitute actors in kabuki scenes, as letter-forms in playful alphabets, as parodies of famous paintings. Government censorship in the 1840s prohibited the depiction of actors and courtesans by name, so Kuniyoshi gave them cat faces, which was technically legal and funnier.
His range was unusual for an ukiyo-e artist. Warriors, landscapes, beautiful women, ghosts, satirical cartoons, cats. He was equally comfortable with the heroic and the absurd, sometimes on the same sheet. His triptych of the giant skeleton spectre, from the tale of Takiyasha the Witch, is one of the most reproduced images in Japanese art.
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