CRANES FLYING ABOVE A WAVE

Late Edo period, 1858 · Print

Can I see it?

Not on view at present

Where is “CRANES FLYING ABOVE A WAVE” now? Collection: Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge. Not on view at present. Checked October 12, 2026.

Cambridge, United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

1856
He becomes a Buddhist monk
In 1856 Hiroshige “retired from the world”, becoming a Buddhist monk; this was the year he began his “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”.
1856
Luxury editions with the publisher Uoya Eikichi
Working with the publisher Uoya Eikichi, Hiroshige created a series of luxury edition prints using the finest printing techniques: true gradation of color, mica for an iridescent effect, embossing, fabric printing, blind printing and glue printing.
1856–1858
One Hundred Views of Edo: a priest pays up front
His great “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” was paid for up front by a wealthy Buddhist priest in love with the daughter of the publisher Uoya Eikichi, a former fishmonger. Hiroshige was usually poorly paid per series, yet he remained capable of remarkable art when the conditions were right.
1858
The cholera epidemic in Edo
Hiroshige died aged 62 during the great Edo cholera epidemic of 1858; whether the epidemic killed him is unknown.
1858
A farewell poem and a will that settles his debts
Just before his death Hiroshige left a farewell poem. He was never wealthy: his income amounted to about twice a day labourer's wages, and his will left instructions for the payment of his debts.
12 October 1858
Died