Utagawa Hiroshige. View of Lake Kawaguchi in Kai Province / Fan print, 1844-45.

Title (as per Okuda Atsuko, 2010): 甲斐川口湖水之図 View of Lake Kawaguchi in Kai Province

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige [歌川 広重] a.k.a. Andō Hiroshige [安藤 広重] (Japanese, 1797 – 1858)

Signed: Hiroshige ga (廣重画), with seal Ichiryūsai (一立齋)

Publisher: Anonymous/Unknown

Date: Circa 1844–1845

Media: Color woodblock print, fan print (chuban uchiwa-e), 190 × 243 mm

Title: View of Lake Kawaguchi in Kai Province (甲斐川口湖水之図, Kai Kawaguchi Kosui no Zu)

Series: Untitled series of views of Mount Fuji

Provenance: Nelkin Collection

Catalogue Raisonné: Okuda Atsuko 2010: № 103

The print depicts an expansive view of Lake Kawaguchi (河口湖), one of the Five Lakes of Mount Fuji, located in Kai Province (modern-day Yamanashi Prefecture). Dominating the composition is the majestic silhouette of Mount Fuji, rendered in delicate gradation from grey to white, with snow at the summit. The lower portion of the mountain is softly enveloped in mist, heightening its monumental presence.

In the foreground, a steep bank supports two pine trees (松), while the middle ground shows a peaceful lakeside with scattered villages and trees. The upper section of the print fades into a gradient sky of pale green and blue, reinforcing a tranquil atmosphere.

Executed with Hiroshige’s characteristic economy of line and subtle use of colour, the composition makes striking use of negative space and vertical layering. As noted by Faulkner, this design belongs to a rare group of fan prints by Hiroshige that are small in size, square in format, and lack the typical cut-away lower section found in most uchiwa-e. No other prints from this series are known beyond the two recorded examples.

Reference:

[LIB-3429.2025] Christie’s, New York: Japanese Art, Thursday 24 April 1997 / Sales Catalogue; p. 144, lot 288.

[LIB-1344.2017] Rupert Faulkner. Hiroshige Fan Prints: Victoria and Albert Museum Far Eastern Series. — London: V&A Publications / New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2001; p. 92, Plate 64.

The second print from the series at Rupert Faulkner — Plate 65, View of the Sea at Kisarazu in Kazusa Province (Kazusa Kisarazu Kaijō no Zu)

• [LIB-3465.2025] Okuda Atsuko. Hiroshige’s Fan Prints: Unknown Ukiyo-e (Hiroshige no uchiwa-e, 広重の団扇絵 知られざる浮世絵). — Kyoto: Unsōdō, 2010.

A view of Mount Fuji from Lake Kawaguchi, located in present-day Minamitsuru District, Yamanashi Prefecture. Based on the impression held by the Victoria and Albert Museum, it is evident that this work adopts a sumi-e (ink painting) style, with delicate gradations of light ink as the base, accented by indigo on the lake and green on the lakeshore. It dates to the late Tenpō era (1830–44).