Caverns of the Gold Mine on Sado Island (Sado kinzan okuana no zu)
1859
19th century
13 1/8 in. x 8 1/2 in. (33.34 cm x 21.59 cm)
Utagawa Hiroshige II,
Japanese,
(1826–1869)
Object Type:
Prints
Creation Place:
Asia, Japan
Medium and Support:
color woodblock print on paper
Credit Line:
Carleton College Art Collection
Accession Number:
1997.140
From One Hundred Views of Famous Places in the Provinces (Shokoku meisho hyakkei)
An unusual subterranean scene is depicted here. Gold was first discovered on Sado island in the Sea of Japan in the 12th century. Cold and desolate, Sado island also held a large penal colony to which numerous political and religious figures, including Nichiren, the founder of an important Japanese Buddhist sect and Zeami the originator of the Noh drama, were exiled and forced to labor in the gold mines. Hiroshige II has concentrated on the interesting challenge of depicting the underground realm of the gold mines while showing workers eating, relaxing and in some cases working the ore.