No. 25: Yawata, from the series "Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido (Kisokaido rokujukyu tsugi no uchi)"
c. 1835/38
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
22.9 × 35.2 cm (9 × 13 7/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
36437
Art Historical Context
Utagawa Hiroshige's *No. 25: Yawata, from the "Sixty-nine Stations the Kisokaido"*c. 1835/38) captures the essence travel along Japan's historic Kisokaido route, an inland highway connecting Edo (modern Tokyo) to Kyoto This color woodblock print, in the popular oban format (22.9 × 35.2 cm), is part of a renowned series the 69 post stations dotted the path—rivaling Hiroshige's earlier Tokaido series. Produced the Edo period, these prints reflected the era's fascination with *ukiyo-e* ("pictures of the floating world"), blending everyday journeys with poetic landscapes. Hiroshige, a master of t...
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...