Evening Snow on Mount Hira

This print, showing Mount Hira in snow, is from the series Eight Views of Ømi, designed by Hiroshige II, a pupil of Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858). Rising on the west shore of Lake Biwa, Hira is actually a range of mountains. Inscribed in the upper left is a poem attributed to the courtier Konoe Tadanobu(1565-1614), who, inspired by eight Chinese poems lauding the beauty of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers, composed eight poems about the area surrounding Lake Biwa. In doing so, Tadanobu established the association between the eight themes mentioned in the Chinese poems and various places in Japan's Ømi Province. This image represents the theme of evening snow. The pale blue water of the lake beautifully contrasts with the white and gray landscape.