Curator's introduction to Hiroshige: artist of the open road

Join exhibition curator Alfred Haft and research scientist Capucine Korenberg for an illustrated introduction to Hiroshige: artist of the open road (1 May – 7 September 2025).

They discuss the context, scope, themes and highlights of the exhibition, which takes visitors on a lyrical journey through Edo Japan, exploring the natural beauty of the landscapes and the bustle of urban life.

The first exhibition on Hiroshige to be held at the British Museum, and the first on the artist in London for more than a quarter of a century, this is a visually stunning portrait of a country about to change forever. Born during an unsettled time in Japan's history, Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) went on to become one of the country's most talented, prolific and popular artists. As Japan confronted the encroaching outside world, Hiroshige's calm artistic vision connected with – and reassured – people at every level of society.

Drawing on the British Museum collection and featuring important loans, the show boasts prints, drawings, illustrated books and paintings. From fashionable figures and energetic city views to remote landscapes and impressions of the natural world, Hiroshige captured many aspects of life in the Japan of his time. Stunning bird-and-flower prints reveal his poetic feeling for nature while his evocative landscapes reflected the growing interest in travel across Japan. Hiroshige portrayed his world sometimes as it was, but often the way he imagined it could be.

This event is part of the public programme supporting the exhibition Hiroshige: artist of the open road (1 May – 7 September 2025).

More information about the exhibition can be found here: https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibit...

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Image: Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), 'Ferry on the Fuji River, Suruga Province'. From 'Famous Places in Japan'. Colour-woodblock print, about 1832. © The Trustees of the British Museum

Collection online: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collect...