東海道五十三次 日阪 夜啼石 無間山 小夜の中山|Nissaka
ca. 1848–49
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Overall: 8 3/4 x 13 3/4in. (22.2 x 34.9cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Francis Lathrop Collection, Purchase, Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1911
Accession Number
JP776
Tags
Art Historical Context
Utagawa Hiroshige1797–1858), a master of ukiyo-e woodblock prints, captures the dramatic beauty of Japan's Tōkaidō road in this evocative scene from his renowned series *The Fifty-three of the Tōkaidō* (ca. 1848–49). Titled *Nissaka*—referencing the station's steep paths through Yobaiishi (Night-Crying Stone), Mugen'yama (Endless Mountain), and Koyasu no Nakayama (Little Night Pass)—this print depicts travelers navigating a misty, forested hillside. Men and women, rendered in flowing robes, evoke the era's pilgrimage culture during the Edo period (1615–1868), when the Tōkaidō linked Edo (moder...
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...