A Study of Composition of Riverside Space in One Hundred Edo Noted Place Pictures Painted by Hiroshige

Ukiyoe of the Edo period was the first common people art that their vitality had produced. It was the only mass media which supported the peoples amusement, education, and fashions. We noticed that riverside was drawn in 76% of the Ukiyoe prints in One Hundred Edo Noted Place Pictures that was very popular among Edo people. And We analyzed riverside space components liked by Edo people in the prints. We extracted seven riverside space components (space expression domain, key Line, four seasons, mountain, breakwater form, plants, construction) and three noted place components (natural features spot system, seasons and years system, subject system) which were common to the traditional painting technique of the Japanese paintings, from the prints. We clarified the correlation between them. As a result, the riverside space compositions, that was mostly used in the prints was the one that the pine was planted in the bank, and the bridge was built. This simple riverside space composition was a flexible space structure, in which people were able to receive the annual events, history, and natural features of the season, such as evergreen pine and scattered cherry blossoms.