江戸の、幕府の火消しの役目をもつ家に生まれました。13歳ごろ両親を亡くして家をつぎ、15歳ごろ歌川豊広に入門します。1833年ごろから出した《東海道五拾三次》が大ヒットし、風景画の第一人者になりました。晩年の《名所江戸百景》は、ゴッホが油絵で写したことでも知られます。あざやかな青は「ヒロシゲブルー」とよばれます。
Hiroshige was born in Edo into a family of official firefighters for the shogunate. His parents died when he was about 13, and he took over the family post. At about 15, he became a pupil of Utagawa Toyohiro. His Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, started around 1833, was a big hit, and he became the leading landscape artist. Van Gogh copied prints from his late series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. His bright blue is called 'Hiroshige blue.'
