ALLEN MEMORIAL ART MUSEUM 11 Left: UtagawaHiroshige I 初代目歌川広重 (Japanese, 1797–1858) Yoshitsune’s Cherry Tree and the Shrine to Noriyori at Ishiyakushi, no. 45 fromthe series Pictures of Famous Places of the Fifty-three Stations, 1855 Color woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper MaryA. AinsworthBequest, 1950.1369 A large, blossoming cherry tree shows us that it is springtime at Ishiyakushi, the same town seen in the fall in the previous section. The tree seems to shelter both the town and the newly planted rice fields surrounding it. In the foreground, an irrigation ditch zigs and zags, bringing water to the fields in the distance. Immediately below the tree is a weir, controlling the flow of fresh water from the ditch into the fields. Left: UtagawaHiroshige I 初代目歌川広重 (Japanese, 1797–1858) Hōki Province: Ōno, Distant ViewofMount Daisen , no. 41 fromthe series Pictures of Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces, 1853 Color woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper MaryA. AinsworthBequest, 1950.1296 Planting rice seedlings by hand was laborintensive, backbreaking work, probably even less pleasant in a rainstorm! But the job was lightened by community effort (結 yui), as farmers helped each other during this critical phase in the growing cycle. Seedlings grew for about 40 days in a nursery bed, planted densely but kept evenly spaced, often with the aid of a grid of ropes stretched across the field. When ready, farmers carefully uprooted the rice plants and transplanted them, more widely spaced, in the larger rice fields. To make sure the seedlings would take, they had to be put into the ground almost immediately. Planters kept up the pace and their spirits with numerous planting songs. Below: UtagawaHiroshige I 初代目歌川広重 (Japanese, 1797–1858) Kakegawa: Akibayama Fork, no. 27 fromthe series The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, also known as the ReishoTōkaidō, ca. 1850 Color woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper MaryA. AinsworthBequest, 1950.945 A group of farmers transplant rice seedlings while travelers pass by on the Tōkaidō, a major road running parallel to the coast between Kyoto and Edo. Rice fields made use of the limited arable land, sometimes along the major roads used for transporting goods and people, as seen here.
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