No. 16: Annaka, from the series "Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido (Kisokaido rokujukyu tsugi no uchi)"
c. 1835/38
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
22 × 34.9 cm (8 5/8 × 13 3/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
60424
Art Historical Context
Utagawa Hiroshige (7–1858), a master of the ukiyo-eblock print tradition, captures the scenic beauty of Japan's Kisokaido road in his renowned series *Sixty-nine Stations of theokaido*. Created around 1835–38 during the Edo period, this, No. 16: Annaka, depicts one of the 69 stations along this vital inland route connecting Edo (modern Tokyo) to Kyoto. These prints celebrated travel and nature, offering affordable glimpses of distant landscapes to urban dwellers in an era before photography. Rendered as a color woodblock print in the large oban format (22 × 34.9 cm), the artwork showcases Hir...
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...