Overview

• The British Museum’s 'Hiroshige: artist of the open road' runs from May 1 to September 7, 2025, marking the first UK exhibition of Hiroshige’s work in over a quarter-century.
• Featuring nearly 120 works, the exhibition includes 117 prints never previously displayed and rare surviving examples of Hiroshige’s iconic pieces.
• The show traces Hiroshige’s evolution from Edo-period floating-world portraiture to pioneering landscape prints, including his celebrated Tōkaidō series.
• Hiroshige’s innovative depictions of light, weather, and human movement are presented as rivaling Western contemporaries like J.M.W. Turner.
• The exhibition emphasizes the collaborative nature of ukiyo-e printmaking, highlighting techniques such as bokashi tonal gradation and traditional craftsmanship in its gallery design.