This print is from Hiroshige’s late series of “Sixty-nine Stations on the Kisokaido” and considered as the most refined piece from the series. The large moon peering through the willow branches, reeds waving gently in a chilly breeze, and a boat and a raft with men hurrying homeward, all serve to give the impression of a quiet, rural winter evening.

This print is from Hiroshige’s late series of “One hundred Views of Famous Places of Edo”. The street scene of Saruwaka town which is famous for Kabuki theaters at night is depicted. Hiroshige used one-point perspective for this street view with shadows of full moon. A bright blue night with a full moon is impressive. It is said that Van Gogh was impressed by this work and drew his oil painting of “Cafe Terrace at Night”.

This serene night scene represents riverside yards near Kyobashi Bridge. The view is from the Kyobashi to the Nihonbashi Bridge and then to the Shirauo Bridge, at which point the receding river vanishes. Along the banks are bamboo dealers’ yards with standing bamboo poles that form a dark, imposing fortresslike facade under the full moon.

Takanawa at Shiba was on the border of Edo and a towngate was located here where travelers entering and leaving Edo were checked. The spacious sky, occupying the upper-half of this design, is awash with bright blue and the curving coast line extends into the distance. The large full moon of autumn is represented splendidly by a white circle. The migrating wild geese exhibit a variety of postures as they come down near to the shore.

Hiroshige also actively worked in various genres of ukiyo-e not only in the landscapes. Especially he left many masterpieces of flowers and birds designed in a long and narrow tanzaku format. "Wild Geese and Full Moon" is one of them. It was used for a design of a Japanese stamp issued in 1949. The large moon occupies the half of a screen with a perfect composition. The three geese flying gracefully from right to left provide an impressive sight and the cloud drawn beneath them, executed in skilled bokashi gradation, adds to the effect of perspective. The rich entirety of this print is typical of the idyllic sense of Hiroshige.