東海道五十三次 土山|Tsuchiyama
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
JP800
Tags
Art Historical Context
Utagawa Hiroshige *Tsuchiyama* (ca. 1840) is a captivating woodblock print from his series *The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō*, which depicts the post stations along the historic Tōkaidō road connecting Edo (modern Tokyo) and Kyoto during Japan's Edo period (16151868). As the 52nd station, Tsuchiyama captures the rugged beauty of the area's mountains and rivers, with figures—likely weary travelers or porters—igating the steep, misty terrain. Hiroshige, a master of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") tradition, elevated landscape printmaking with his poetic eye for nature's tra...
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...