UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)

Published shortly before his death in 1858, Wrestling Matches between Mountains and Seas is one of Hiroshige’s last works. The concept was to depict mountains along the shore, with the contrast between land and sea compared to a dynamic bout between two wrestlers. Originally intended to total 140 prints, comprising 70 pairs of landscapes and seascapes for each of Japan’s seventy provinces, only 10 pairs of the series came to be published with ten prints of mountains and ten prints of harbours. A gourd-shaped fan (gunbai uchiwa) used by referees for sumo matches is used as the title cartouche for the series. The series comprises of:

- Mount Yuga in Bizen Province (Bizen Yugayama)
- Kamewari Pass in Echigo Province (Echigo Kamewari toge)
- Elephant-head Mountain in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Zozuzan)
- Mount Arima in Settsu Province (Settsu Arimayama)
- Yunoo Pass in Echizen Province (Echizen Yunoo toge)
- Mount Kiyozumi in Awa Province (Awa Kiyozumiyama)
- Mount Kaso in Kazusa Province (Kazusa Kasozan)
- Mount Oyama in Sagami Province (Sagami Oyama)
- Mount Tatsu in Harima Province (Harima Tatsuyama)
- Mount Tateyama in Etchu Province (Etchu Tateyama)
- Mouth of the Aji River in Settsu Province (Settsu Ajikawaguchi)
- Kisarazu in Kazusa Province (Kazusa Kisarazu)
- Harbor at Muro in Harima Province (Harima Muro-no-tsu)
- Tanokuchi in Bizen Province (Bizen Tanokuchi)
- Mikuni in Echizen Province (Echizen Mikuni)
- Niigata in Echigo Province (Echigo Niigata)
- Harbor at the Old Provincial Capital in Etchu Province (Etchu Kokokufu minato)
- Kominato in Awa Province (Awa Kominato)
- Uraga in Sagami Province (Sagami Uraga)
- Marugame in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Marugame)