In Photos: Ukiyo-e prints capture life, scenery through eyes of 3 generations

The woodblock print "Wisteria at Kameido" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1932, S. Watanabe Color Print Co. collection)

The woodblock print "Kameido Tenjin Shrine, from the Series 'One Hundred Views of Musashi Province'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kobayashi Kiyochika, 1884, S. Watanabe Color Print Co. collection)

The woodblock print "Zojoji Temple in Snow, from the Series 'Famous Places in the Eastern Capital'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Utagawa Hiroshige, late Tenpo era, Private collection)

The woodblock print "Snow at Zojoji Temple, Shiba, from the Series 'One Hundred Views of Musashi Province'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kobayashi Kiyochika, 1884, S. Watanabe Color Print Co. collection)

The woodblock print "Zojoji Temple, Shiba, from the Series 'Twenty Views of Tokyo'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1925, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "View of Lotus Pond at Shinobugaoka, from the Series 'Famous Places in the Eastern Capital'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Utagawa Hiroshige, early Tenpo era, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Rain at Shinobazu Pond" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kobayashi Kiyochika, ca. 1876-80, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Rain at Shinobazu Pond, from the Series 'Twenty Views of Tokyo'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1929, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "View of Red Maple Trees by the Takinogawa River at Oji, from the Series 'Famous Places in Edo'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Utagawa Hiroshige, 1853, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Bridge at Takinogawa Pond" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kobayashi Kiyochika, ca. 1878, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Takinogawa River, from the Series 'Twenty Views of Tokyo'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1929, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Nihonbashi: Departure at Dawn, from the Series 'Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Utagawa Hiroshige, late Tenpo era, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Night at Nihonbashi Bridge" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kobayashi Kiyochika, ca. 1881, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Dawn at the Nihonbashi Bridge, from the Series 'Selection of Views of the Tokaido'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1940, S. Watanabe Color Print Co. collection)

The woodblock print "Mannen Bridge at Fukagawa, from the Series 'One Hundred Famous Views of Edo'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. The print employs a composition where the nearby motif of the turtle is enlarged and the famed scenery in the background is viewed through it -- a method typical of Hiroshige's works. This composition is said to make the viewer feel as if they are at the location themselves. Mica mineral powder was applied to the turtle's shell to express its glistening wet surface. (Utagawa Hiroshige, 1857, Private collection)

The woodblock print "Suruga-cho Street, from the Series 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji,'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Utagawa Hiroshige, 1858, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Snow at Surugacho" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. Kiyochika's print shows the same avenue depicted in Utagawa Hiroshige's "Suruga-cho Street, from the Series 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji,'" but with a bank building replacing the view of Mount Fuji seen in the earlier work. (Kobayashi Kiyochika, ca. 1879, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Dai-ichi Bank at Kaiunbashi Bridge in the Snow" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. The museum caption states, "Dai-ichi National Bank was a representative example of the architecture of the time, blending Japanese and Western styles. With the lower half hidden by Kaiunbashi Bridge, the triangular silhouette is conversely emphasized, resulting in a stable composition like the views of Mount Fuji depicted in Edo-period ukiyo-e." (Kobayashi Kiyochika, ca. 1876, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Shower at Nihonbashi Bridge, from the Series 'Famous Places in the Eastern Capital'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. Rain is depicted in numerous thin lines overlapping each other and drawn at different angles. (Utagawa Hiroshige, first half of Tenpo era, Private collection)

The woodblock print "Shinbashi Station" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. Meiji era painter Kiyochika often expressed rainy days by showing the glistening surface of a wet ground and people holding umbrellas, as seen in this print. (Kobayashi Kiyochika, ca. 1881, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Early Summer Showers at Sanno Shrine, from the Series 'Twelve Scenes of Tokyo'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. Short lines are used to express rain falling down gently. (Kawase Hasui, 1919, Gallery Soumei-do collection)

The woodblock print "Viewing Snow at the Uekiya Restaurant at Mokubo-ji Temple, from the Series 'Famous Restaurants in Edo'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. According to the museum's caption, "In the latter part of the Edo period, many restaurants serving high-quality Japanese cuisine appeared in the city of Edo. 'Famous Restaurants in Edo' is a set of prints depicting such teahouses and restaurants in Edo." (Utagawa Hiroshige, latter half of Tenpo era, National Museum of Japanese History collection)

The woodblock print "View of Ushimachi in Takanawa by Hazy Moonlight" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kobayashi Kiyochika, 1879, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Cherry Blossom Viewing on the Banks of the Sumida River" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kobayashi Kiyochika, ca. 1876, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Fireworks at Ryogoku" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kobayashi Kiyochika, 1880, Private collection)

The woodblock print "Fireflies at Ochanomizu" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kobayashi Kiyochika, ca. 1877-79, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "View of Mount Ryuho in Shizuoka" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kobayashi Kiyochika, 1880, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "View of Nihonbashi Bridge Seen from Edo Bridge, from the Series 'One Hundred Views of Musashi Province'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. The composition depicting a subject largely in the foreground is said to have drawn on Utagawa Hiroshige's works from 'One Hundred Famous Views of Edo'. (Kobayashi Kiyochika, 1884, Private collection)

The woodblock print "Moonlit Night (The Garden Pond), from the Series 'The Mitsubishi Mansion in Fukagawa'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1920, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Snow at Tsukishima, from the Series 'Twenty Views of Tokyo'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1930, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts collection)

The woodblock print "Lingering Snow in Urayasu" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. According to the museum caption, the print portrays a fishing town with boats used for gathering seaweed moored alongside the riverbank. As opposed to famous views captured in traditional ukiyo-e works, this work features "a perfectly ordinary landscape" and "charmingly represents an intimate view of the town." (Kawase Hasui, 1932, S. Watanabe Color Print Co. collection)

The woodblock print "Hall of the Golden Hue, Chuson Temple, Hiraizumi, from the Series 'Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition'" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1935, S. Watanabe Color Print Co. collection)

A stage during the woodblock printing process for "Itsukushima Shrine" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1930s, Gallery Soumei-do collection)

A stage during the woodblock printing process for "Itsukushima Shrine" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1930s, Gallery Soumei-do collection)

A stage during the woodblock printing process for "Itsukushima Shrine" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1930s, Gallery Soumei-do collection)

A stage during the woodblock printing process for "Itsukushima Shrine" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1930s, Gallery Soumei-do collection)

A stage during the woodblock printing process for "Itsukushima Shrine" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1930s, Gallery Soumei-do collection)

A stage during the woodblock printing process for "Itsukushima Shrine" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1930s, Gallery Soumei-do collection)

A stage during the woodblock printing process for "Itsukushima Shrine" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1930s, Gallery Soumei-do collection)

A stage during the woodblock printing process for "Itsukushima Shrine" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1930s, Gallery Soumei-do collection)

A stage during the woodblock printing process for "Itsukushima Shrine" is shown in this image provided by Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts. (Kawase Hasui, 1930s, Gallery Soumei-do collection)

Woodblock prints are seen on display in "Ukiyo-e Landscapes: Hiroshige, Kiyochika, and Hasui -- Eyes of Three Generations," an exhibition at Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, in this photo taken in the Tokyo suburban city of Machida on July 9, 2021. (The Mainichi/Chinami Takeichi)