東海道五十三次 坂の下|Saka no Shita
ca. 1840
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
JP799
Tags
Art Historical Context
Utagawa Hiroshige's *Saka no Shita* (Foot of the Slope), from his renowned series *The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōidō* (ca. 1840), captures poignant moment along Japan's historic Tōkaidō road—the vital coastal route linking Edo (modern Tokyo) Kyoto during the Edo period1615–1868). This woodblock print depicts the station at the base of a steep incline blending majestic mountains, lush trees, and tiny human figures navigating the rugged terrain. Hiroshige, a master of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") tradition, elevated landscape printmaking with his poetic eye for nature's moo...
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...