PRESS RELEASE
2015.5.15

400th Anniversary ofthe Death of Tokugawa Ieyasu

Hiroshigeand Puzzle Prints
The World of Visual Riddles in Printsof Famous Sites
June 2 (Tue.) – August 9 (Sun.)Part 1: June 2 (Tue.) – July 5 (Sun.)Part 2: July 7 (Tue.) – August 9 (Sun.)
Organizer: Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art
Designated Manager: NPO Hexaproject
Cooperation: 400th Anniversary of the Death of Tokugawa Ieyasu
Dasokuan

OutlineTo commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who laid the foundations for peace
throughout Japan, we are holding an exhibit of hanjie picture puzzles, which were very popular among thecommoners during the Edo period. These picture puzzles are visual riddles. The answers are found in the hidden
meanings in the seemingly unrelated pictures and characters, making these woodblock prints full of fun.
In this exhibit, we present hanjie based around a range of themes that include famous sites, foods, and tools.
Alongside the hanjie with a famous sites theme, Hiroshige’s depictions of such famous sites are also introduced
providing a clue to solving the puzzle. Visitors can enjoy trying to solve the puzzle while viewing Hiroshige’s works
at the same time. This exhibit at our museum will give visitors the chance to compare the locations depicted by
the hanjie with the landscapes in Hiroshige’s works. Why not try your skill at these puzzle pictures, whichflourished as amusements for people in Edo.
Hours 9:00 AM ‒ 5:00 PM (last admission 30 minutes before closing time)
Closed Mondays (if it falls on a holiday, then the following Tuesday)
Adults: 510 (410) yen / University / High School Students: 300 (240) yen / Junior high students and younger:120 (100) yen* ( ) indicates prices for groups of 20 or more * Persons with proof of disability and one accompanying person are admitted free of charge* Shizuoka City residents Junior high students and younger as well as Shizuoka City residents over 70 are Admission admitted free of charge
Access by train:
Take the JR Tokaido Line and get off at Yui Station.
It is a 25-minute walk or 5-minute taxi ride from there.
Access by car:
There are 21 parking spaces at the museum(Yui Honjin Park Parking)■From Osaka, Nagoya area
Exit the Tomei Expressway at the Shimizu IC and it is 20-minutesby Route 1 from there.
■From Tokyo, Yokohama area
Exit the Tomei Expressway at the Fuji IC and it is 25-minutesby Route 1 from there.

Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art
297-1 Yui, Shimizu-ku Shizuoka City 421-3103[URL] www.tokaido-hiroshige.jp [facebook] www.facebook.com/tokaido.hiroshige
For more information on this exhibition and press inquies
Tel 054-375-4454 / Fax 054-375-5321

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info@tokaido-hiroshige.jp

PRESS RELEASE
2015.5.15

Exhibition Highlights*The person has a head which is
the hiragana character for “A”,
and he is farting the character“SA” which is smelly, “KUSA”.

❶Hanjie & Prints of Famous Sites
This section exhibits hanjie which are about deciphering
place names and prints of famous sites that depict thebackgrounds that form the answer. This is a rare opportunity
to try your hand at Edo place names and post-station towns
while being able to see the answers in the landscapes ofthe places in the puzzles, rather than just in words.

❷Test Your Knowledge Against Edo CommonersHanjie cover a wide range of subjects, from food tocommon tools. Here you can enjoy testing your knowledge
and wits against the people of Edo as you not only tease out
the hidden answers, but also focus on the fun, impossible
situations that have been drawn as the riddles.

Top image: Work exhibited in Part 1. Utagawa Shigenobu (Utagawa Hiroshige Ⅱ)
Excerpt from the “Picture Puzzle: Famous Places in Edo”; Collection of Dasokuan
Middle image: Work exhibited in Part 1. Utagawa Hiroshige “Famous Places in Edo:Kinryūzan Temple in Asakusa” Collection of Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art
Bottom image: Utagawa Shigenobu (Utagawa Hiroshige Ⅱ)
Excerpt from the “Picture Puzzle: Kitchen Utensils Vol. 1”; Collection of Dasokuan

MIZUGAME (Water Jar)
*The character for water “MIZU” is “GA” (Japanese particle indicatingsubject) taking the place of the person’s eyes “ME”.

Related Event 1 / Lecture “Edo Riddles: The World of Hanjie”
Presenter: Hitoshi Iwasaki (Director of Shizuoka City Tokaido
Hiroshige Museum of Art)
When: July 18 (Sat.) 13:30 - 15:00
Cost: Free *museum entrance fee is required
Registration: Applications accepted by telephone(054-375-4454) or through our website.
Spaces are limited to the first 35 people(pre-registration recommended).

CHAGAMA (Tea Kettle)*The tea “CHA” is being made by a toad “GAMAgaeru”.

Registration will close once all spaces are filled.

Work exhibited in Part 2.
Utagawa Shigenobu (Utagawa Hiroshige Ⅱ)
Excerpt from the “Picture Puzzle: Kitchen Utensils Vol. 2”;
Collection of Dasokuan

Related Event 2 / Gallery Talks by a Museum CuratorPart 1 June 14 (Sun.) 13:00 - 13:30
Part 2 July 19 (Sun.) 13:00 - 13:30
Cost: Free *museum entrance fee is required
Language: JapaneseMeeting place is the entrance hall of the museum. No pre-registration needed; unlimited enrollment

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PRESS RELEASE
2015.5.15

What is Hanjie?
The term comes from the Japanese word ‘hanzuru’ or ‘hanjiru’, meaning ‘to speculate’ or ‘to deduce’ – or, inother words, ‘to decipher the meaning’. Hanji-mono are things that hide a meaning in characters and pictures,
forcing the viewer to try and decipher what it might be. They are a type of riddle, riddles having been popularin Japan for centuries, and so could be seen as a quiz made using words, text, and pictures. Hanjie are hanjimono done in pictorial form, making them visual riddles or wordless quizzes. Anything could be used as thetopic for a hanjie, from well-known things like place names or country names to familiar objects, fashion
trends, people’s names, and other things that contemporary people, lacking the basic knowledge of the time,
would find very hard to solve.

Try For Yourself
Rule： ❶ Puns
Find the answers from the sounds, using words with the same sounds but different meanings.
❷ Reading backwards
Images drawn the wrong way up are read backwards.

【A】Hint: An Edo Period Province【B】Hint: A Tōkaidō Post-StationAnswer【C】Hint: A Sea Creature【D】Hint: Furniture used in the winter.

【A】 HARIMA *Sheets of paper are being
applied "HARI" by a possessed cat(bake-neko) which is a type of ademon "MA".
【B】 HAKONE *There are teeth “HA” anda cat (neko) which is overturned soread as “KONE”.
【C】 KURAGE (Jelly fish) *A warehouse"KURA" is being kicked "GE". (Kick =keri, and when combined with other words ispronounced with a hard "g" sound)【D】KOTATSU (a small table with anelectric heater underneath)*A child “KO” is standing “TATSU”.

【A】Left image: Work exhibited in Part 1. Utagawa Shigenobu (Utagawa Hiroshige Ⅱ) Excerpt from the “Picture Puzzle: Province Names Ⅲ”; Collection ofDasokuan / Right image: Work exhibited in Part 1. Utagawa Hiroshige “Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Harima Province, Maiko Beach”
Collection of Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art【B】Left image: Work exhibited in Part 2. Ippōsai Yoshifuji Excerpt from the “Picture Puzzle: Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō”; Collection of Dasokuan /Right image: Work exhibited in Part 2. Utagawa Hiroshige “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji: The Lake at Hakone”
Collection of Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art【C】Work exhibited in Part 1. Ichihōsai Kunimori Excerpt from the “Picture Puzzle: Fishes”; Collection of Dasokuan【D】Work exhibited in Part 2. Ichieisai Yoshitsuya Excerpt from the “Picture Puzzle: Household Goods”; Collection of Dasokuan

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PRESS RELEASE
2015.5.15

About the Museum￥

Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art
Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art is the first art museum in Japan to focus on the works of Edo
Ukiyo-e Artist, Utagawa Hiroshige. There are approximately 1400 landscape woodblock prints and other works
within the Hiroshige collection, including Hiroshige’s masterpieces Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō (TōkaidōHoeidō Edition) and One Hundred Famous Views of Edo.
We aim to promote a new culture of Ukiyo-e through curated exhibitions connecting Ukiyo-e with contemporaryworks. Visitors can enjoy the magnificence of internationally loved Ukiyo-e works from Edo to the present.

About Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) Ukiyo-e artist
He became a pupil of Toyohiro Utagawa when he was about 15 years old. His work Fifty Three Station of theTōkaidō (Tōkaidō Hoeidō Edition) caused a great sensation, after that he continued to create Ukiyo-e prints about
the Tōkaidō and the landscape of Edo and became famous as landscape artist. While he was working on what is
considered his late-life masterpiece, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, Hiroshige fell ill and passed away at theage of 62. Hiroshige's bold composition and lyrical style is loved by all and his works continue to influence artists
all over the world.
Utagawa Toyokuni Ⅲ / Memorial Portrait of Utagawa Hiroshige
Collection of Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art

Press Images￥High-resolution data for the following 5 images are available for editorial coverage of exhibitions. Please send your request byemail or fax after reading the usage conditions on the following page.

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2-1

2-2

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□Titles and Credits
1.

Poster image

2.

Utagawa Shigenobu (Utagawa Hiroshige Ⅱ)©Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art

3.

Utagawa Hiroshige

4.

Utagawa Shigenobu (Utagawa Hiroshige Ⅱ)

Excerpt from the “Picture Puzzle: Kitchen Utensils Vol. 1”; Collection of Dasokuan

5.

Utagawa Shigenobu (Utagawa Hiroshige Ⅱ)

Excerpt from the “Picture Puzzle: Kitchen Utensils Vol. 2”; Collection of Dasokuan

Excerpt from the “Picture Puzzle: Famous Places in Edo”; Collection of Dasokuan

Famous Places in Edo “Kinryūzan Temple in Asakusa” Collection of Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art〈Usage Conditions〉* The images may be used only for editorial press purposes in conjunction with this exhibition and may not be used after the exhibition is over.
* Images may not be altered (trimmed, combined with other images or text, etc…).
* Images must be reproduced with notice of attribution.
* When an image is used, please email us a review copy
* Please send a final copy for our records (publication copy, URL, DVD video, CD, etc…)

4PRESS RELEASE
2015.5.15

Hiroshige and Puzzle Prints:
The World of Visual Riddles in Prints of Famous Sites

Press Image Data Request
TO: Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art Press Desk

Fax. 054-375-5321

E-mail. info@tokaido-hiroshige.jp■Check the box for image data to be requested.
1. □Poster image

2-1. □Utagawa Shigenobu (Utagawa Hiroshige Ⅱ) / Excerpt from the “Picture Puzzle: Famous Places in Edo”
2-2. □Utagawa Hiroshige / Famous Places in Edo “Kinryūzan Temple in Asakusa”
3. □Utagawa Shigenobu (Utagawa Hiroshige Ⅱ) / Excerpt from the “Picture Puzzle: Kitchen Utensils Vol. 1”

4. □Utagawa Shigenobu (Utagawa Hiroshige Ⅱ) / Excerpt from the “Picture Puzzle: Kitchen Utensils Vol. 2”Your Company:
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*Can be sent between 10:00 – 16:00 (JST)Planned publishing date (section title)〈Usage Conditions〉* The images may be used only for editorial press purposes in conjunction with this exhibition and may not be used after the exhibition is over.
* Images may not be altered (trimmed, combined with other images or text, etc…).
* Images must be reproduced with notice of attribution.
* When an image is used, please email us a review copy
* Please send a final copy for our records (publication copy, URL, DVD video, CD, etc…)

Please send us information if you introduce our program.
Tel 054-375-4454 / Fax 054-375-5321 info@tokaido-hiroshige.jp

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