Mitsuke tenryu river view - Hiroshige

Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido

In 1832 Hiroshige traveled with an entourage of the shogun's officials from Edo (Tokyo) to Kyoto along the Tokaido road. This journey was an eye opening and life changing experience for him. As an urban man of Edo, he had experienced life mainly in the capital. His journey along the Tokaido, through the rural enclaves and natural beauty of his country, had a deep impact on Hiroshige.     He immediately returned to Edo after the trip and began his masterwork woodblock series from the sketches he had made along the amazing journey. Published from about 1833 - 1834, The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, or Hoeido Tokaido, earned Hiroshige great popular and critical acclaim during his lifetime and for generations to come.

He expertly captures moody and atmospheric weather conditions, rendering mist, rain, snow, and evening effects with great skill and beauty. His poetic landscapes have a distinctly human touch about them, the addition of figures that lend a personal element to balance the beauty and wonder of nature.

This series offers viewers the opportunity to be transported back in time to Hiroshige's Japan in the shadow of the Tokugawa Shogunate and to see this life as the artist experienced it. Hiroshige went on to design nearly twenty different Tokaido series during his lifetime, but the Hoeido Tokaido remains his finest, rightfully securing his position as one of the greatest Japanese woodblock artists.

The Tenryu River at Mitsuke

A close-up scene along the Tokaido depicting the laborious crossing of the Tenryu River. Two ferry men wait for their passengers on a boat in the foreground. 

Estampe  ca 1980      38 x 25 cm