東海道五十三次之内 赤阪|Akasaka Station
ca. 1842
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
8 27/32 x 13 1/2 in. (22.5 x 34.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1918
Accession Number
JP572
Tags
Art Historical Context
Utagawa Hiroshige *Akasaka Station* (ca. 1842) is a vibrant woodblock print from his series *The Fifty-three of the Tōkaidō*, which captures the 53 post stations along the historic coastal road connecting Edo (modern Tokyo) Kyoto during Japan's Edo period (16151868). This vital route was a lifeline for travelers, merchants, and officials under the shogunate's travel restrictions, and Hiroshige's depictions romanticized the journey's landscapes, weather, and human activity, making ukiyo-e landscapes hugely popular. In this print, measuring about 8½ by 13½ inches, Hiroshige masterfully renders ...
About the Artist
Utagawa Hiroshige · 1826–1869
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), born Andō Tokutarō, was the last great master of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock printmaking and one of the most influential landscape artists in history. Born in Edo (modern Tokyo) into a low-ranking samurai family serving as fire wardens, Hiroshige transformed landscape printmaking into a poetic meditation on nature, weather, and everyday life. His revolutionary approac...