color woodcut, ink, paper, 40x20 cm, artist's signature, publisher's mark in margin
The rooster is a zodiac sign symbolizing courage. The crowing of the white rooster had the power to ward off evil spirits. In Japan, it is a sacred bird, personifying male beauty. The poem visible in the upper left corner translates as follows: Rooster crowing: time to part. Take me to the city where his voice will not be heard (translated by Anna Zalewska).
The ukiyo-e woodcuts have been printed several times since the Edo period, always using the traditional method. Oedo Mokuhansha is a respected Tokyo publisher where, as in many traditional firms, the craft of woodblock printing was passed down from generation to generation. In the 1950s, during the revival of interest in ukiyo-e, Mokuhansha began to reissue Hiroshige's works in perfect color and with all the laws of the woodcut art.
Hiroshige Andō, also known as Hiroshige Utagawa, is one of Japan's best-known painters and printmakers. His father, Andō Genuemon, was a low-ranking samurai and fire brigade officer. From the age of sixteen, Hiroshige studied in the studio of Utagawa Toyohira, under whose tutelage he developed his skills and talent. Young Hiroshige soaked up the artistic atmosphere while helping in the daily life of his father's brigade. It wasn't until he was 27 that he fully decided to follow the path of artistic creation. After his teacher's death in 1822, he was offered to take over the studio after his master, but Hiroshige declined the offer and set his sights on independence. Hiroshige's artistic output has not been fully catalogued to this day, but it is estimated that some 5,000 works were created, primarily in the color woodcut technique. He began his career with portraits of beautiful women (bijin-ga) and images of kabuki actors (yakusha-e), but after the death of his teacher he focused primarily on native landscapes. Hiroshige came from a samurai family, however, he identified with Edo's bourgeois culture. He became primarily known as the creator of landscape series such as Fifty-three Stations on the Tōkaidō Road(Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi no uchi), One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo(Meisho Edo hyakkei) and Sixty-nine Stations on the Kisokaidō Road(Kisokaidō rokujūkyū tsugi no uchi). He masterfully depicted the landscape at different times of the year and day, and was interested in weather phenomena. He experimented with effects and composition and used unconventional shortcuts. A unique element in his works is the depiction of atmospheric phenomena such as snowfall or rainfall, as well as gales and storms. On the other hand, he was interested in the phenomenon of shadow and its effect both in the landscape and domestic interiors.
