Details
UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
The complete set of Wrestling Matches between Mountains and Seas (Sankai mitate zumo)
The complete set of twenty woodblock prints of the series Wrestling Matches between Mountains and Seas (Sankai mitate zumo), each signed Hiroshige ga, published by Yamadaya Shojiro (Kinkyodo), 1858
Each horizontal oban: approx. 25.5 x 37.5 cm. (10 x 1434 in.)
Provenance
Sotheby's, London, Japanese Works of Art, Prints & Paintings, 14th July 2006, Lot 1365
Special notice
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.
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Lot Essay

Published shortly before his death in 1858, Wrestling Matches between Mountains and Seas is one of Hiroshige’s last works. The concept was to depict mountains along the shore, with the contrast between land and sea compared to a dynamic bout between two wrestlers. Originally intended to total 140 prints, comprising 70 pairs of landscapes and seascapes for each of Japan’s seventy provinces, only 10 pairs of the series came to be published with ten prints of mountains and ten prints of harbours. A gourd-shaped fan (gunbai uchiwa) used by referees for sumo matches is used as the title cartouche for the series. The series comprises of:

- Mount Yuga in Bizen Province (Bizen Yugayama)
- Kamewari Pass in Echigo Province (Echigo Kamewari toge)
- Elephant-head Mountain in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Zozuzan)
- Mount Arima in Settsu Province (Settsu Arimayama)
- Yunoo Pass in Echizen Province (Echizen Yunoo toge)
- Mount Kiyozumi in Awa Province (Awa Kiyozumiyama)
- Mount Kaso in Kazusa Province (Kazusa Kasozan)
- Mount Oyama in Sagami Province (Sagami Oyama)
- Mount Tatsu in Harima Province (Harima Tatsuyama)
- Mount Tateyama in Etchu Province (Etchu Tateyama)
- Mouth of the Aji River in Settsu Province (Settsu Ajikawaguchi)
- Kisarazu in Kazusa Province (Kazusa Kisarazu)
- Harbor at Muro in Harima Province (Harima Muro-no-tsu)
- Tanokuchi in Bizen Province (Bizen Tanokuchi)
- Mikuni in Echizen Province (Echizen Mikuni)
- Niigata in Echigo Province (Echigo Niigata)
- Harbor at the Old Provincial Capital in Etchu Province (Etchu Kokokufu minato)
- Kominato in Awa Province (Awa Kominato)
- Uraga in Sagami Province (Sagami Uraga)
- Marugame in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Marugame)
Post Lot Text
This lot has been imported from outside the EU for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on the invoice. Please see Conditions of Sale for further information.

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