Hiroshige | Niekawa, The Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido Road
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
木曾街道六十九次之内 贄川
Niekawa, from the series The Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido Road
1836-7
木版画 | 横绘大判 | 24.5cm x 36.7cm
Woodblock-print | Oban Yoko-e | 24.5cm x 36.7cm
非常早期版本和版次；颜色鲜艳；整体品相完好；边缘经修剪；背面有两处残留的胶纸痕迹
Very early edition and impression; strong and rich color; minor trimming to margin; 2 pieces tape residue verso, otherwise very good condition.
《木曾海道六拾九次之内》，又称《木曾街道六拾九次之内》，是歌川广重及溪斋英泉（1790-1848）于1835至1837年联合创作的风景绘系列。全套共计71幅（广重创作47幅，英泉创作24幅），描绘了从日本桥至整个中山道（又称木曾海道）上69个驿所的独特风光。
贽川，中山道的第33处宿场，位于今长野县盐尻市，是木曾街道十一宿中最北端的宿场。
在本作中，广重罕见的几乎没有为他钟爱的自然风光留下空隙，而是全画幅展现了宿场中的众生相。
从右向左，只见客栈老板正手拿账本提步外出，两位一身疲惫的旅人正一边等候侍女端上热茶，一边开始脱鞋泡脚。赶了一天路的轿夫此时终于能放下轿笼，点起烟管惬意地抽上一口；打着赤膊的马夫却还在铆足劲，抓紧卸下马背上的大箱货物。二楼的客人攀着栏杆朝外望，观者的视线，却很难不被屋檐下的一排招牌吸引：板元伊势利、仙女香京桥坂本氏、松岛房二郎、松邑安五郎……
广重用俏皮的手法，将版元、赞助商、摺师、刻工等人致谢个遍。更有趣的是，他还将本作的序号“三十四”隐藏在了驮马的尻尾之上。
多么酷的收梢。
Here we see another stop along the Kisokaido, or “Mountain Highway,” which connected Edo with Kyoto along a mountain route longer and more arduous – and thus less-traveled -- than the seaside Tokaido. This joint series with Keisai Eisen followed the success of Hiroshige’s “53 Stations of the Tokaido,” published by Hōeidō, which created a ravenous marked for landscapes.
Eisen was known as something of a man about town, a Bon Vivant, and his carousing may have gotten in the way of his work on this series. In the end, he completed only 24 of the designs, mostly near the beginning, while Hiroshige completed 46.
But just as there are questions as to whether Hiroshige actually walked the entire Tokaido, it is also lost to history if he ventured on the Kisokaido, and if so, how far. Many of these designs focus on close-in views of the traveling experience. This is one of them. We get a wonderfully intimate, and at times comic, look at the joys of travel in Edo times.
Niekawa was the 35th station – or town – along the route, and it comes just as the road enters the Kiso Valley itself after a several days journey from Edo. Hiroshige focuses on a roadside inn to the exclusion of anything else – there are no identifying landmarks or views to identify the location. But we see the intricate ballet of travelers and those who serve them.
A porter unloads a horse after having tied its tail so it won’t hit him when it whips back and forth. A palanquin bearer crosses his legs and enjoys his pipe with a smile after an arduous day of work. Recently arrived travelers relax in their robes while a waitress serves them and the bowing owner welcomes them. Upstairs, two more guests enjoy the evening.
The scholar and author Sebastian Izzard points out some hidden jokes, too. (Today online we might call them Easter Eggs.) The Kanji on the sign boards do not announce the name of the inn, as they normally would, but rather advertise the publisher, the engraver and the prints – and, most amusingly, the cosmetic manufacturer Sakamoto and his white face powder. He paid regularly to advertise on Ukiyoe prints.
Such was product-placement in Edo times.
Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
木曾街道六十九次之内 贄川
Niekawa, from the series The Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido Road
1836-7
木版画 | 横绘大判 | 24.5cm x 36.7cm
Woodblock-print | Oban Yoko-e | 24.5cm x 36.7cm
非常早期版本和版次；颜色鲜艳；整体品相完好；边缘经修剪；背面有两处残留的胶纸痕迹
Very early edition and impression; strong and rich color; minor trimming to margin; 2 pieces tape residue verso, otherwise very good condition.
《木曾海道六拾九次之内》，又称《木曾街道六拾九次之内》，是歌川广重及溪斋英泉（1790-1848）于1835至1837年联合创作的风景绘系列。全套共计71幅（广重创作47幅，英泉创作24幅），描绘了从日本桥至整个中山道（又称木曾海道）上69个驿所的独特风光。
贽川，中山道的第33处宿场，位于今长野县盐尻市，是木曾街道十一宿中最北端的宿场。
在本作中，广重罕见的几乎没有为他钟爱的自然风光留下空隙，而是全画幅展现了宿场中的众生相。
从右向左，只见客栈老板正手拿账本提步外出，两位一身疲惫的旅人正一边等候侍女端上热茶，一边开始脱鞋泡脚。赶了一天路的轿夫此时终于能放下轿笼，点起烟管惬意地抽上一口；打着赤膊的马夫却还在铆足劲，抓紧卸下马背上的大箱货物。二楼的客人攀着栏杆朝外望，观者的视线，却很难不被屋檐下的一排招牌吸引：板元伊势利、仙女香京桥坂本氏、松岛房二郎、松邑安五郎……
广重用俏皮的手法，将版元、赞助商、摺师、刻工等人致谢个遍。更有趣的是，他还将本作的序号“三十四”隐藏在了驮马的尻尾之上。
多么酷的收梢。
Here we see another stop along the Kisokaido, or “Mountain Highway,” which connected Edo with Kyoto along a mountain route longer and more arduous – and thus less-traveled -- than the seaside Tokaido. This joint series with Keisai Eisen followed the success of Hiroshige’s “53 Stations of the Tokaido,” published by Hōeidō, which created a ravenous marked for landscapes.
Eisen was known as something of a man about town, a Bon Vivant, and his carousing may have gotten in the way of his work on this series. In the end, he completed only 24 of the designs, mostly near the beginning, while Hiroshige completed 46.
But just as there are questions as to whether Hiroshige actually walked the entire Tokaido, it is also lost to history if he ventured on the Kisokaido, and if so, how far. Many of these designs focus on close-in views of the traveling experience. This is one of them. We get a wonderfully intimate, and at times comic, look at the joys of travel in Edo times.
Niekawa was the 35th station – or town – along the route, and it comes just as the road enters the Kiso Valley itself after a several days journey from Edo. Hiroshige focuses on a roadside inn to the exclusion of anything else – there are no identifying landmarks or views to identify the location. But we see the intricate ballet of travelers and those who serve them.
A porter unloads a horse after having tied its tail so it won’t hit him when it whips back and forth. A palanquin bearer crosses his legs and enjoys his pipe with a smile after an arduous day of work. Recently arrived travelers relax in their robes while a waitress serves them and the bowing owner welcomes them. Upstairs, two more guests enjoy the evening.
The scholar and author Sebastian Izzard points out some hidden jokes, too. (Today online we might call them Easter Eggs.) The Kanji on the sign boards do not announce the name of the inn, as they normally would, but rather advertise the publisher, the engraver and the prints – and, most amusingly, the cosmetic manufacturer Sakamoto and his white face powder. He paid regularly to advertise on Ukiyoe prints.
Such was product-placement in Edo times.
Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
木曾街道六十九次之内 贄川
Niekawa, from the series The Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido Road
1836-7
木版画 | 横绘大判 | 24.5cm x 36.7cm
Woodblock-print | Oban Yoko-e | 24.5cm x 36.7cm
非常早期版本和版次；颜色鲜艳；整体品相完好；边缘经修剪；背面有两处残留的胶纸痕迹
Very early edition and impression; strong and rich color; minor trimming to margin; 2 pieces tape residue verso, otherwise very good condition.
《木曾海道六拾九次之内》，又称《木曾街道六拾九次之内》，是歌川广重及溪斋英泉（1790-1848）于1835至1837年联合创作的风景绘系列。全套共计71幅（广重创作47幅，英泉创作24幅），描绘了从日本桥至整个中山道（又称木曾海道）上69个驿所的独特风光。
贽川，中山道的第33处宿场，位于今长野县盐尻市，是木曾街道十一宿中最北端的宿场。
在本作中，广重罕见的几乎没有为他钟爱的自然风光留下空隙，而是全画幅展现了宿场中的众生相。
从右向左，只见客栈老板正手拿账本提步外出，两位一身疲惫的旅人正一边等候侍女端上热茶，一边开始脱鞋泡脚。赶了一天路的轿夫此时终于能放下轿笼，点起烟管惬意地抽上一口；打着赤膊的马夫却还在铆足劲，抓紧卸下马背上的大箱货物。二楼的客人攀着栏杆朝外望，观者的视线，却很难不被屋檐下的一排招牌吸引：板元伊势利、仙女香京桥坂本氏、松岛房二郎、松邑安五郎……
广重用俏皮的手法，将版元、赞助商、摺师、刻工等人致谢个遍。更有趣的是，他还将本作的序号“三十四”隐藏在了驮马的尻尾之上。
多么酷的收梢。
Here we see another stop along the Kisokaido, or “Mountain Highway,” which connected Edo with Kyoto along a mountain route longer and more arduous – and thus less-traveled -- than the seaside Tokaido. This joint series with Keisai Eisen followed the success of Hiroshige’s “53 Stations of the Tokaido,” published by Hōeidō, which created a ravenous marked for landscapes.
Eisen was known as something of a man about town, a Bon Vivant, and his carousing may have gotten in the way of his work on this series. In the end, he completed only 24 of the designs, mostly near the beginning, while Hiroshige completed 46.
But just as there are questions as to whether Hiroshige actually walked the entire Tokaido, it is also lost to history if he ventured on the Kisokaido, and if so, how far. Many of these designs focus on close-in views of the traveling experience. This is one of them. We get a wonderfully intimate, and at times comic, look at the joys of travel in Edo times.
Niekawa was the 35th station – or town – along the route, and it comes just as the road enters the Kiso Valley itself after a several days journey from Edo. Hiroshige focuses on a roadside inn to the exclusion of anything else – there are no identifying landmarks or views to identify the location. But we see the intricate ballet of travelers and those who serve them.
A porter unloads a horse after having tied its tail so it won’t hit him when it whips back and forth. A palanquin bearer crosses his legs and enjoys his pipe with a smile after an arduous day of work. Recently arrived travelers relax in their robes while a waitress serves them and the bowing owner welcomes them. Upstairs, two more guests enjoy the evening.
The scholar and author Sebastian Izzard points out some hidden jokes, too. (Today online we might call them Easter Eggs.) The Kanji on the sign boards do not announce the name of the inn, as they normally would, but rather advertise the publisher, the engraver and the prints – and, most amusingly, the cosmetic manufacturer Sakamoto and his white face powder. He paid regularly to advertise on Ukiyoe prints.
Such was product-placement in Edo times.
Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
Ando Hiroshige (1897-1858) revolutionized the art of landscape prints during the Edo era, building on the success of his senior, Hokusai, but taking a more poetic and naturalist approach to portraying the beauty of Japan.
The son of a low-level Samurai assigned to the fire brigade in Edo, Hiroshige became a student of the Utagawa school as a young man. His first prints focused on beautiful women (bijin), and views of Edo. But in 1833 he began work on his most famous early work, his first series depicting the Tokaido, the "Great Sea Road" between Edo and Tokyo.
Today there is some controversy about this series. Initially, it was believed that Hiroshige had travelled the route along with a local lord (Daimyo) who was making a gift of horses to the Emperor. But more recent scholarship suggests Hiroshige never travelled the road himself, at least not the entire way, and made his designs using published guidebooks.
Nonetheless, the prints were wonderful and revolutionary. They embraced the seasons with a gentle lyricism missing from Hokusai's striking but stylized depictions. In Hiroshige's work, nature is sacred -- but it is always mixed with humanity, with travelers or little inns or bridges. There is a magical harmony between man and the elements.
His depiction of the seasons and weather is especially evocative. Snow blankets some views with a hushed silence, while rain streaks down furiously in others. In some prints natured is agitated; in others, calm prevails. Produced in a horizontal oban yoko-e format, the series was a smash hit.
The Tokaido series made Hiroshige famous, and he became incredible prolific. In the 1840s he produced many strong designs, but many mediocre ones, too, including several subsequent Tokaido series of varying quality.
In 1853, however, he made a big step. He turned his landscapes sideways, embracing a bold vertical oban tate-e format. This gave his designs new energy and a modern feel. The first of these was Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces. From them on, most of his most noted series were executed in this format.
He saved his greatest for his last. In 1856 he began work on 100 Famous Views of Edo, which many consider his most exceptional work. Here his home city was portrayed with energy and passion, and in these 119 designs he created an incredible record of a vanished place. In addition to the striking vertical format, he developed exciting new compositions, often juxtaposing a strong foreground element with a distant background.
Among the many famous images in this series are Squall at Ohashi and the Plum Garden in Komeido. Both of these were copied by Vincent Van Gogh, a great admirer of Hiroshige. Thus, the great Japanese artist had a profound effect on Western art.
Alas, his beloved Edo ended his life. Hiroshige was claimed by a cholera epidemic that swept the city in 1958. His pupil Shigenobu, who took the name Hiroshige II, completed The Famous Views of Edo.