東海道五十三次 池鯉鮒|Chiryu
ca. 1838
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
8 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. (21.6 x 16.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1914
Accession Number
JP95
Tags
Art Historical Context
Utagawa Hiroshige *Chiryu* is a captivating woodblock print his renowned series *The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō*, created around 1838 during Japan's Edo period (1615–1868). This popular ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") depicts the 53 post stations along the vital Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo (modern Tokyo) to Kyoto, celebrating travel, landscapes, and daily life amid strict travel restrictions under the shogunate. In this intimate 8½ × 6½-inch print, Hiroshige masterfully renders the bustling scene at Chiryu station with human figures, houses, horses, and trees. Travelers...
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...