Utagawa Hiroshige II & Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), Thirty-Six Scenes of the Pride of Edo: Horikiri Iris Garden (Edo jiman sanjurokkyo: Horikiri hanashobu), oban tate-e 14 1/4 by 9 3/4 in. (36.1 by 24.7 cm)

Pride of Edo: Collaboration in the Capital City
November – December 2025
Online Exhibition

Scholten Japanese Art is delighted to unveil a special Online Exhibition presenting a selection of prints from the 1864 collaborative series celebrating the famous sights and culture of the historic city, Thirty-Six Scenes of the Pride of Edo (Edo jiman sanjurokkyo), featuring figures by Utagawa Toyokuni III (Kunisada, 1786-1865), set within landscapes designed by Utagawa Hiroshige II (1826-1869).

The Pride of Edo series combines several ukiyo-e tropes: images of bijin (beautiful people, mostly women), celebrating local specialties associated with meisho (famous or popular views) of the capital. Published in the twilight of the Edo Period (1600-1868), the era named after the metropolis itself, the series captures a glimpse of the city and its denizens shortly before the dramatic pivot to modernity on the not-too-distant horizon. But until then, the Edokko (residents of Edo) are depicted going about their daily lives, visiting their favorite haunts, and enjoying the familiar entertainments offered by their hometown. Most of the locations and subjects were readily recognizable to the audience at the time, featuring familiar landmarks with figures modeling up-to-date fashions whilst on their outings about town.

The series seems almost nostalgic, illustrating the traditional lifestyles of the residents of Edo, with very few visual acknowledgments of the encroaching foreigners and their influences which had been flooding through the nearby port of Yokohama for five years. Edo would be renamed Tokyo just four years hence following a violent revolution, with bloody battles fought within the city itself, and concluding with the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate. But until then, the Edokko present the best of their city, with pride.

To learn more and view the online exhibition, click here.