Iwani Province: Mount Takazuno and Salt Beat

Printerprinted by Utagawa Hiroshige I 歌川広重 (Japanese, 1797–1858)

Date1853

Mediumink and color on paper

Dimensions34.3 x 22.9 cm (13 1/2 x 9 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection

Terms

Object number1901.59.1437

DescriptionPrint no. 42 of the series: "Famous Views of the Sixty-odd Provinces"
Label TextJapan lacks natural salt deposits, so all salt must be obtained from the sea. Because the climate in Japan is generally rainy and humid, the evaporation process for making salt is especially laborious. First, a salt beach is flooded with seawater and constantly raked to aid evaporation. Then, the dry salty sand is mixed with water and boiled down in kettles. This prints show workers raking and carrying sand or water. Piles of wood sit by the larger huts, while salt kettles dot the beach under small roofs.

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