On my way back home after praying for good fortune at a temple nearby, I stumbled upon this beautiful place in Nakagawa.

Seeing how it is surrounded by nature and getting immersed in the tranquil atmosphere of the place, I decided to stop by and explore the surroundings.

I found out this Ukiyo-e museum and discovered that the works of an Edo artist are on display. Attracted not only by the idea of seeing Hiroshige Utagawa’s drawings and having a taste of old Japan’s culture and history but also by the traditional and beautiful aesthetics of the building, I decided to go inside.

For those of you who are not so familiar with Ukiyo-e, let me briefly update you on this beautiful art of “pictures of the floating world”.

Ukiyo-e is a form of Japanese art that mainly developed between the 17th-century and19th century and focuses on woodblock prints and paintings that include elements of that time’s culture, history, and beauty.

You can often find paintings of erotica, many that have as main focus women or kabuki actors, some that feature sumo wrestlers or are parts of landscapes, stories and mukashi banashi　(Japanese folk tales).

One of the most famous artists that are famous worldwide is Hokusai, probably best known for his masterpiece series of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji and he is also the one who had a strong influence on Hiroshige’s prints.

Utagawa Hiroshige

Ukiyo-e has many artists, although some were more or less influenced by others, each of them had different approaches, some were more poetic like Hiroshige was, others bolder, more formal like Hokusai.

Hiroshige, one of the greatest artists of ukiyo-e had paintings focused more on women’s beauty, actors and even portraits some of the pleasure districts of the country during Edo.

He even had his version of Fuji Sanju-Rokkei (Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji) and incomparable techniques and beautiful color gradation in his woodblock printmaking. One of my favorite works by Hiroshige is Moon Bridge in Meguro from his One Hundred Famous Views of Edo collection.

If you are in the area, I warmly recommend going to the museum and immersing yourself in the serenity surrounding it.

After watching the exhibits, you can buy various prints, seals with your name in kanji or hiragana, senbei (rice crackers) with ukiyo-e paintings, ukiyo-e postcards or magnets and many other unique souvenirs you can only get there.

Take your time and enjoy your visit.

You can see more information on the Nakagawa-machi Bato Shirohige Museum of Art Official Website.

Access: