Item from the Mokuhankan Flea Market

Kanbara - from the 53 Stations of the Tokaido

Size: 38.0cm by 26.0cm (14.96 in by 10.24 in) | Enlargement | Shipping Code: [L] ?

Designer: Ando Hiroshige

Era: Taisho | Currency: $ / £ / €

Price: ¥ 7,000$ 58.00£ 49.25€ 56.25 [Item has been sold]

Description: This is a print from what is perhaps the single most famous series of Japanese woodblock prints ever produced - "The 53 Stations of the Tokaido", designed by Hiroshige in the 1830s.

Unlike the reproduction prints in the post-war period we usually have, this print is made in the Taisho era (1912~1926).

This print is the representation of Kanbara, the sixteenth station, as depicted in the Hōeidō edition. Hiroshige is depicting a small village under the snow surrounded by mountains; they are standing behind as if they were witnessing the battle of the three travelers in the foreground against the windy weather. Hunched and heads bowed they are trying to escape the inclement cold of the outside so they can maybe enter one of those cozy houses. A black and white bokashi is announcing the arrival of the night, snowflakes are falling under a dark sky...

We can notice that everything, except our warriors of the snow, is in black and white only, this gives a very calm dimension to the scene. It’s almost as if we could hear through our eyes, meaning that by just observing, this absence of colors where the white of the snow is king, makes us hear the silence reigning there.

This region is known to be very temperate and as a consequence snowfall is rare. Researchers agree that Hiroshige passed through Kanbara during the summer, this means he didn’t represent the real summer landscape of his travel but the one of his imagination.

This print is toned and slightly creased overall. Also, there are some spots mostly at the margins, and a few marks at the upper part.

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