Ukiyo-e Print Capturing the Poetic Essence of Traditional Japanese Culture - Hiroshige's Minowa, Kanasugi, and Mikawashima

"Minowa, Kanasugi and Mikawashima" (original title: 蓑輪金杉三河しま) is a woodblock print by the Japanese painter and illustrator Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) produced in May 1857.

This print features two Manchurian cranes (tanchōzuru), one wading in the water while the other appears to hover above the scene, dominating the top of the image. The three locations mentioned in the title are located northwest of the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters, near the Ōshū Kaidō road. During the winter, the shogun conducted heron hunting, called tsuru no onari ("heron rounds"), in this area. To attract the herons, farmers placed food as bait, as probably suggested by the presence of the peasant walking away on the left. The herons' plumage is rendered with the karazuri (vacuum printing) technique, a dry printing method in which the plate is pressed against the paper with a stamp called a baren. Herons symbolize longevity, happiness, and fidelity in marriage, as their union with one partner lasts their entire lives. The motif of pairs of herons is common in Chinese pictorial tradition.