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In 1832, when he was 35 years old, the man who was to become the most popular woodblock artist of all time, journeyed down the highway from Tokyo to Kyoto.
His name was Hiroshige. He and his companions were escorting a gift horse from the Shogun to the Emperor. The japanese had long called the road they travelled "the way facing the eastern ocean", or "Tokaido". Over the years through custom and convenience some 53 stopping places had been established about a days journey apart. As Hiroshige walked he sketched. Two years later in 1834 there first appeared a set of 53 prints devoted to views from these stations plus one for the starting point, Nihonbashi, and one for the arrival in Kyoto.
From the day of their publication, they have been enormously popular. Also shown here are works by the equally famous Hokusai and a more modern master Kawase Hasui.
Hiroshige Ando (1797 - 1858)
"The Hollow
of the Deep Sea Wave of Kanagawa" by
Hokusai (1760 -1849)
"Ono Mito"
by
Kawase Hasui (1883 - 1957)
