Goldmines of the Sado Province, by A. Hiroshigea

By Prints as Portals

Goldmines of the Sado Province, by A. Hiroshigea
1853

Gaining for gold near the Ai River of the Sado Province began in the early 17th century and became a principal source of finance for the Tokugawa shogunate government (established in Edo around that time). Hiroshige developed this image by borrowing from a manga illustration by Hokusai called 'Goldmines' (Kanayama), published in 1815. Text from a Ronin Gallery catalogue of 2023 notes that “by Hiroshige's time the veins were running dry and the working conditions had significantly declined. The mines finally closed in 1989." Seen from the point of view of human industry in relation to the earth's buried treasure, this image is fascinating in its depiction of a mountain landscape. Note the rivers emerging from inside the mine portals, and the way Hiroshige depicts the towering mountain shapes, reminders that many of the waters of our earth arise from mountainous areas.