No. 53 "Kusatsu: Famous Post House" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido
Fine Arts The Japanese Prints: Ancient and Modern
Item Info
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:
"In the early 1830's, Hiroshige's first landscape prints appeared. He subsequently became the leading landscape artist and was especially known for his series on the Tokaido highway that connected Edo (present day Tokyo) with Kyoto. The earliest and most famous of these, generally known by the name of the publisher as 'Hoeido ban Tokaido' (Tokaido published by Hoeido), was issued from 1832-33. Hiroshige III stated sixty years later that Hiroshige's designs are after sketches he took during a journey to Kyoto, however, most of his designs are undoubtedly inspired from illustrations in guide books like the Tokaido meisho zue ('Gathering of Views of Famouse Sightss alonf the Tokaido;' 1797) and even this alleged journey cannot be verified."
from "Japanese Woodblock Prints: Artists, Publishers and Masterworks 1680-1900", Andreas Marks. Tuttle Publishing. p.132
Notes:
note card with print
Station 53
Kuasatsu: Resting Place for Kago - Bearers. A very flourishing place in Hiroshige's day, the station of Kusatsu was the dividing point between the Tokaido and the Tosando. Hiroshige's scene - based presumably on one in the Tokaido Meisho Ki - shows a tea house specializing in ubagamochi, a kind of rice cake. The contrast between the relaxed palanquin-bearers within the tea house and those outside, scurrying along with their passengers, is highly dramatic.
Bibliography:
https://catalog.freelibrary.org/Record/125651
https://catalog.freelibrary.org/Record/370941
https://catalog.freelibrary.org/Record/703108
https://catalog.freelibrary.org/Record/2030739
https://www.hiroshige.org.uk/Tokaido_Series/Tokaido_Great.htm
Creation Year: ca. 1834
Image Dimensions Width: 22 cm
Call Number: Woodblock Prints - The Fifty-three Stations of the T?kaid? Road
Creator Name: Hiroshige, Utagawa, 1797-1858 - Artist
No.1 "Nihonbashi: Morning Scene" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No.4 "Kanagawa: View of the Embankment" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No. 6 "Totsuka motomachi Fork" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No.7 "Fujisawa: Yugyoji" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No.9 "Oiso: Tora's Rain" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No.10 "Odawara: Sakawa River" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No.11 "Hakone" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No. 14 Hara: Mount Fuji in the Morning from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No. 15 Yoshiwara: Fuji on the Left from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No. 16 "Night Snow" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No. 18 "Okitsu: Okitsu River" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No.26 "Nissaka: Sayo Moutain Pass" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No.27 Kakegawa: View of Akiba from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No.28 "Outdoor Tea-stall at Fukuroi" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No. 31 "Maisaka: Veiw of Imagiri" from the series Fifty-Three stations of the Tokaido 
No.32 "Arai: Ferry Boats" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No. 35 "Yoshida: The Toyokawa River Bridge" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No. 37 "Akasaka: Inn with Serving Maids" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No.38 "Fujikawa: Scene at Post Outskirts" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No.41 "Narumi: Famous Cloth of Arimatsu" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No.43 "Kuwana: Shichiri Crossing" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
After No. 46 "A Sudden Shower at Shono" from the series Fifty-Three stations of the Tokaido 
After "A Sudden Shower at Shono" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No.48 "Seki: Early Departure from the Honjin" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No. 50 "Tsuchiyama: Spring Rain" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No. 51 "Minakuchi: Famous Dried Gourd Shavings from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No. 52 "Ishibe: The Village of Megawa" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No. 53 "Kusatsu: Famous Post House" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido
No.55 "Kyoto: The Great Sanjo Bridge" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
No.21 "Mariko: Famous Tea Shop" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido 
"Hakone" from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido