VOL.211 JANUARY 2026
JAPAN AND UME Ume in Ukiyo-e

Utagawa Hiroshige²: Toto Meisho Kameido Ume Yashiki³ no Zu (“View of the Plum Garden at Kameido”) 
Photo: Gift of Louis W. Hill, Jr./Collection of Minneapolis Institute of Art

Highly attuned to the changes of the seasons since ancient times, the Japanese have long cherished flowers which bloom in each of them. During the Edo Period (early 17th to the middle of the late 19th century), artists of ukiyo-e,¹ a style of woodblock printing, captured the beauty of these flowers by portraying them in different ways in their works. We spoke with an ukiyo-e expert at an art museum about ukiyo-e prints portraying ume (Japanese apricot blossoms), the flower that heralds spring.

Japanese apricot blossoms have been loved by the Japanese since the Nara Period (around the 8th century). HINOHARA Kenji, chief curator at Ota Memorial Museum of Art, shares his insights.

“During the Edo Period and particularly around the 18th century, ordinary people began to have more opportunities for hanami (flower-viewing), a custom that continues to this day, in which people visit spots famous for seasonal flowers. I think that Japanese apricot blossoms, in particular, were cherished by those with refined sensibilities, who longed for the advent of spring, because it blooms while the cold still lingers.”

We will look at four ukiyo-e prints portraying people and Japanese apricot blossoms.

■ Utagawa Hiroshige²: Toto Meisho Kameido Ume Yashiki³ no Zu (“View of the Plum Garden at Kameido)

This is the work by Utagawa Hiroshige, renowned for his series Tokaido Gojusan-tsugi⁴ (“Fifty-three Stages of the Tokaido Highway”). At a mizuchaya or tea stall (rather like a cafe today), people sit on benches to gaze at the apricot blossoms while drinking tea.

“A key feature of this work is the realism with which this umemi (Japanese apricot-blossom-viewing) is portrayed. We can clearly see that people are dressed in warm, layered clothing, since Japanese apricot blooms when the weather is chilly. A man near a tree in the right of the background is holding some white paper; it seems there was a custom at this time of writing waka and haiku⁵ and attaching the poems to the branches of the trees. This marks a clear contrast with cherry-blossom-viewing: umemi (Japanese apricot-blossom-viewing) was favored by intellectuals and artists, and was considered a more fitting subject for artistic activities,” says HINOHARA, interpreting the customs and daily life of the Edo Period from this masterpiece.

■ Utagawa Hiroshige: Meisho Edo Hyakkei Kameido Ume Yashiki (“Plum Garden at Kameido (Kameido Umeyashiki),” from the series “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)”)

This masterpiece by Utagawa Hiroshige portrays the same Japanese apricot mansion in Kameido. In this impressively bold composition, the trunk and branches of a Japanese apricot tree stretch across the foreground, with human figures portrayed only just visible in the background, between the branches.

“This picture is famous as the work which inspired Vincent Van Gogh to create his own rendition of it. It suggests that Van Gogh was captivated by ukiyo-e, and learned much from this style of art. Even today, this print is sure to come up whenever the Japonism in art is discussed,” explains HINOHARA. The perspective of this composition, in which the viewer seems to be peeking through the branches in the manner of a camera lens, gives the picture a fresh look that had a considerable impact not only on Japanese people at the time, but also on Western artists in the years that followed.

■ Suzuki Harunobu⁶: Yoru no Ume (“Woman Admiring Plum Blossoms at Night”)

This print by Suzuki Harunobu is overflowing with poetic expression, in contrast to the more naturalistic scenes portrayed by Utagawa Hiroshige.

“This ukiyo-e seems to capture a moment from a story: At nighttime, a woman strolls along the outdoor corridor of the residence. With almost nothing visible in the darkness outside, suddenly the fragrance of the apricot blossom drifts over to her. As she holds her hand-held lantern up, white plum blossoms quietly emerge in the night,” explains HINOHARA.

The vitality of the Japanese apricot blossom, a flower that gives off a distinct fragrance even in the dark, is captured in the delicate atmosphere of this scene.

“The white of the blossoms, floating mid-air in the darkness of the night, creates a powerful impression. For the people of Edo, Japanese apricot blossoms were seen as a sign of coming spring. This print beautifully captures the fleeting moment when their long-awaited fragrance suddenly fills the air.”

■ Utagawa Kunisada⁷: Juni-kagetsu no Uchi Kisaragi Umemi (“The Second Month: Viewing Plum Blossoms (Kisaragi, umemi),” from the series “The Twelve Months (Jûni tsuki no uchi)”)

During the Edo Period, cultural practices that embodied co-existence with nature, such as changing clothing styles and viewing seasonal flowers to mark the four seasons, became established customs. This work by Utagawa Kunisada portrays several women, along with some of the customs of people’s everyday lives.

“This work depicts February. Although the title includes the word umemi or “Japanese apricot-blossom-viewing,” it is the women and their everyday activities that draw the eye as the main subject of the picture, rather than the blossoms themselves. The sight of these beautifully-dressed women enjoying umemi over food and drink is finely conveyed by this work,” says HINOHARA.

Utagawa Kunisada⁷: Juni-kagetsu no Uchi Kisaragi Umemi (“The Second Month: Viewing Plum Blossoms (Kisaragi, umemi),” from the series “The Twelve Months (Jûni tsuki no uchi)”)
Photo: NDL Digital Collections (2025-12-02)

The Japanese apricot blossoms portrayed in these Edo Period ukiyo-e transcend time to convey the joy of spring to us today. Just as Van Gogh was enchanted by the composition of Utagawa Hiroshige, so we too can appreciate the vitality of these Japanese apricot blossoms through ukiyo-e.

• 1. In ukiyo-e, literally “floating-world pictures,” the “floating world” refers to everyday life, as these woodblock prints portrayed everyday scenes in ordinary people’s lives.
• 2. Born in 1797, died in 1858. A Japanese painter known for landscape prints such as Tokaido Gojusan-tsugi (“Fifty-three Stages of the Tokaido Highway”). He specialized in scenic views of various provinces and famous places in Edo.
• 3. This mansion, attached to a villa which stood in present-day Koto City in Tokyo, was famous for its Japanese apricot blossom in the Edo Period.
• 4. 53 post towns established along the main road leading from Nihombashi in Edo to Sanjo Ohashi in Kyoto.
• 5. A traditional form of Japanese short poetry. Waka consists of five lines with 31 syllables, while haiku consists of three lines with 17 syllables.
• 6. Born in 1725 and died in 1770. An ukiyo-e artist who created many fine, elegant-looking pictures of beautiful women.
• 7. Born in 1786 and died in 1864. An ukiyo-e artist who left tens of thousands of pictures, many of them being portrayals of kabuki actors on the stage and portraits of beautiful women.

By YANAGISAWA Miho
Photo: NDL Digital Collections; Clarence Buckingham Collection/1857, Collection of The Art Institute of Chicago; Fletcher Fund, 1929/Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Gift of Louis W. Hill, Jr./Collection of Minneapolis Institute of Art