Plum orchard

The foreground of this print is dominated by a branch of plum blossom. Small white flowers contrast starkly with the dark branch and the red sky. Here, Japanese artist Hiroshige has depicted the famous Kameido gardens. Visitors can be seen walking around in background. The entrance to the garden is on the left. The 'Plum orchard', which dates from 1857, was part of a series of one hundred views of famous sights in Tokyo, a combination of landscapes and ukiyo-eUkiyo-eIn Japanese, 'ukiyo-e' means 'pictures of the floating world'. Ukiyo-e is the term for prints and paintings illustrating life in the brothel districts and theatre. tableaux, depicting scenes from everyday life. The 'Plum orchard' became famous in Europe through Vincent van Gogh, who gave his own rendition of this work.