Item from the Mokuhankan Flea Market

Shimada - from the 53 Stations of the Tokaido

Size: 27.0cm by 40.0cm (10.63 in by 15.75 in) | Enlargement | Shipping Code: [L] ?

Designer: Ando Hiroshige

Era: Mid Showa | Currency: $ / £ / €

Price: ¥ 7,000$ 52.00£ 42.25€ 48.75 [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.

The print you see here is a reproduction version produced in the post-war period by one of the numerous publishing houses working at that time (Adachi, Takamizawa, Yuyudo, Bijutsu-sha, Yamada Shoin, Kyoto Hanga-in, etc.) Here at Mokuhankan we have a wide selection of such prints, far too many to scan and prepare for the website one by one.

We don't always have every print in this series in stock, but try to keep as many of them available as possible. The one you see in this photo is on hand, but feel free to contact us about other designs in this series that you don't see on the site ...

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Image information: This is a view looking down from quite a high spot. Many people are crossing the Oi-river from Shimada station.

This river was famous as the most difficult one to cross. After heavy rain the water level went up so much that people were sometimes forced to wait for many days.

On the center left of the image a palanquin for high rank person is seen and many samurai carrying swords are lining up. A huge amount of luggage and some horses are waiting for their turn. Yes, this is clearly a Daimyo procession. At the end of the long line, common travelers are seen patiently waiting for their turn.

The group of mesh like objects that are placed in the very foreground and the right side are barriers to protect the river banks from erosion.

Seeing this kind of image I wonder about those days - did time pass much more slowly - and were people used to waiting patiently? (S.I.)

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