‘東海道 Tōkaidō: Dreamscapes by Andō Hiroshige’ at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

If you’re in Montreal this summer, don’t miss the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) ongoing exhibition ‘東海道 Tōkaidō: Dreamscapes by Andō Hiroshige,’ running until the 8th of September, 2024.

Located in Montreal’s historic Golden Square Mile, an area known for its art galleries, fine dining and abundant shopping, the MMFA has been an icon of the neighbourhood since 1860. The museum’s extensive collection houses nearly 47,700 objects, with notable strengths in Canadian and international fine art, Canadian Indigenous art, and decorative art and design.    

The MMFA’s collection also includes a significant representation of Asian art featuring works from Japan, China, the Himalayan region and the Islamic World. Among these is a renowned selection of Japanese woodblock prints spanning from the late 18th Century to the 20th Century.

The Hiroshige exhibition is a rare treat for enthusiasts of Asian art in Canada. Unlike our American neighbours, who frequently host Asian art exhibitions, Canadian institutions seldom showcase such focused displays. Dreamscapes by Andō Hiroshige’ is the first time in the MMFA’s history that the entire series of the artist’s ‘Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō’ woodblock prints have been exhibited together. Hiroshige, a celebrated master of the ukiyo-e (floating world) school, is known for his diverse oeuvre, includes travel prints, cityscapes, landscapes, and fauna. His Tōkaidō series, like his later ‘Hundred Famous Views of Edo,’ (on view at the Brooklyn Museum earlier this summer), showcases his innovative approach to capturing the essence of Japanese landscapes - a theme he revisited throughout his career.

The MMFA is displaying the Hōeidō edition of the Tōkaidō series, published between 1833-1834, which is familiar to many ukiyo-e enthusiasts. This series vividly depicts the journey along the Tōkaidō road, connecting Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to the old imperial capital of Kyoto, and includes some of Hiroshige’s most iconic works. 

At the time of its publication, the series was a commercial success across Japan, elevating the popularity of ukiyo-e travel prints. This surge in interest was partly due to the relaxation of travel restrictions by the Tokugawa Shogunate, which made travel between cities more accessible during a period of relative peace. These prints served as souvenirs for travelers and offered glimpses of locations that many aspired to visit.

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View of the exhibition 東海道 Tōkaidō: Dreamscapes by Andō Hiroshige at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
Photo MMFA, Denis Farley

Dreamscapes by Andō Hiroshige occupies two large, connected galleries at the MMFA, with the prints arranged chronologically from the starting point at Nihonbashi in Edo, across the 500-kilometer journey to the Sanjōbashi Bridge in Kyoto. This exhibition was conceived by Laura Vigo, curator of Asian Art at the MMFA, in 2021. It follows a trend among museums to showcase existing collections rather than investing in costly loan exhibitions, a strategy that has become more common in the wake of the pandemic, which led to decreased attendance and donor funding. 

Showcasing the museum’s existing collections not only reduces costs,  but also highlights the many hidden gems within the collection, such as the Hiroshige prints donated to the MMFA in 1973, reigniting interest in the museum’s and Asian art holdings. The exhibition emphasizes Hiroshige’s skill in infusing each landscape with distinct character, blending the real and imaginary to create almost cinematic scenes- departure from the more geographically focused Japanese landscape prints of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Laura Vigo describes Hiroshige’s work as possessing a “seductive charm” that has earned him the reputation as a master of Japanese landscape prints. She notes that Hiroshige’s ability to blend reality and imagination created a world that “everyone yearned to inhabit and travel within – a world that still charms us to this day.”

In this review, I’ve selected three of my favorite prints from the exhibition, which are also some of the most popular views from this series. These examples offer an excellent introduction to Hiroshige’s Hōeidō views of the Tōkaidō Road for those unfamiliar with his work.

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Hakone, Scene of the Lake (箱根湖水図), no. 11 from the series “Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō,” about 1833-1834
Andō Hiroshige (1797-1858)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), publisher: Takenouchi Magohachi (Hoeidō)
MMFA, gift of Mary Fraikin in memory of her father, Maurice van Ysendyck
Photo MMFA, Christine Guest

Hakone, Scene of the Lake (箱根湖水図) is the 11th station along the Tōkaidō Road. This print offers an impressive view of Hakone, with its variegated and exaggerated patch-like tones. The colourful mountain is juxtaposed next to the clear blue waters of Lake Ashi. Along the extremely narrow path, a long line of travelers in straw hats can be seen navigating the treacherous route, all under the immutable presence of nature.

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Kanbara, Night Snow (蒲原夜之雪), no. 16 from the series “Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō,” about 1833-1834
Andō Hiroshige (1797-1858)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), publisher: Takenouchi Magohachi (Hoeidō)
MMFA, gift of Mary Fraikin in memory of her father, Maurice van Ysendyck
Photo MMFA, Christine Guest

The 16th view of Hiroshige’s Tōkaidō Road is Kanbara, Night Snow (蒲原夜之雪).  One of the artist’s most recognisable snow scenes, this print captures the coldness and desolation of the location. Figures hunched against the cold, jackets covered in dense snow, struggle through the deep drifts, leaving tracks behind them.  Ironically, this scene is largely a product of Hiroshige’s imagination, as the region experiences very little snowfall.

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Shōno, Driving Rain (庄野白雨), no. 46 from the series “Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō,” about 1833-1834
Andō Hiroshige (1797- 1858)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), publisher: Takenouchi Magohachi (Hoeidō)
MMFA, gift of Mary Fraikin in memory of her father, Maurice van Ysendyck
Photo MMFA, Christine Guest

And finally we have Hiroshige’s Shōno, Driving Rain (庄野白雨) which is number 46 in the series. This is the artist’s second most recognised rain scene, only surpassed by Sudden Shower over the Shin-Ōhashi Bridge over Atake from his series ‘The Hundred Famous Views of Edo’.

In this dramatic scene, Hiroshige depicts the downpour as diagonal lines, with gray shading enhancing the intensity of the deluge. Travelers, including two porters carrying a client on a kago (traveling chair), struggle against the elements, their hats and umbrellas lowered against   the storm. In the background, the trees and bamboo are all bent from the strong winds. The scene’s dynamic composition heightens the sense of difficulty in navigating the storm.  

Overall, ‘東海道 Tōkaidō: Dreamscapes by Andō Hiroshige’ is definitely worth checking out for those in the Montreal area. Notably, there has been a renewed interest in Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints in the global art market, and this rare complete set of Hiroshige’s ‘Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō’ offers a unique opportunity for admirers and collectors of traditional Japanese woodblock prints and Japanese art and culture to experience these masterful works in person.

Anthony Wu is an Asian Art consultant, researcher, writer and certified appraiser based in Toronto, Canada.