Traditional Print A Visual Journey Through Japan's Iconic Landscapes - Hiroshige's Rain in the Paulownia Garden

"Night Rain in the Paulownia Garden at Akasaka" (original title: 赤坂桐畑雨中夕けい) is a woodblock print by the Japanese painter and illustrator Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) produced in April 1859.

This print, created by Hiroshige II (also known as Nise Hiroshige), was added to the series One Hundred Views of Edo as an afterthought. Therefore, it is not listed in the Baisotei Gengyo index. The censor's seal, aratame, is dated the fourth month of 1859.

Some consider this print to be a replacement for plate 52, the paulownia garden at Akasaka, or as a work commissioned by Sakanaya Eikichi to mark Hiroshige II's adoption of the Hiroshige name and seal. The disciple is known to have completed at least three prints (numbers 12, 41, and 114) left unfinished at his master's death.

The image depicts a paulownia garden near Tameike Pond, already depicted in another panel in the series. It is a night scene in heavy rain, with a dark gray-blue sky that highlights the gray-green hue of the trees in the background. The lower part of the image, lighter and more vivid, contrasts with the darker background.

The line of the pond diagonally intersects the ascending path, creating a trapezoidal shape. Figures are visible along the pond at the bottom of the image, while a few barely distinguishable figures are walking toward the Akasakamon Gate of the Edo Palace on the path in the background.