Nihonbashi, Shinagawa, Kawasaki, and Kanagawa, from the series "Famous Places on the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, Four Stations (Tokaido gojusan eki yonshuku meisho)"

Art Historical Context

Behold *Nihonbashi, Shinagawa, Kawasaki, and Kanagawa*, a vibrant color woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, created around 1830–35. Part of the series *Famous Places on the Fifty-three Stations of theokaido, Four StationsTokaido gojusan eki yonshuku meisho)*, this oban-sized work (25.9 × 38 cm) captures iconic stops along the historic Tokaido road—the vital coastal route linking Edo (modern Tokyo) to Kyoto during Japan's Edo period (1603–1868). Kuniyoshi, a master of the Utagawa school and ukiyo-e tradition, here shifts from his renowned warrior prints to evoke the bustling energy of travel ...

About the Artist

Utagawa Kuniyoshi · 1797–1861

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861) was born in Edo to the silk-dyer Yanagiya Kichiyemon, originally bearing the childhood name Yoshisaburō. From a young age, he assisted in his family's pattern design work, which sharpened his innate mastery of color and textile motifs that would permeate his later prints. At around twelve years old, his prodigious drawing skills drew the attention of the renowned Utag...