Item from the Mokuhankan Flea Market

Karuizawa from the 69 Stations of the Kiso Kaido

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

Designer: Ando Hiroshige

Era: Post-war | Currency: $ / £ / €

Price: ¥ 10,000$ 78.00£ 60.50€ 72.00 [Item has been sold]

Description: 'The 69 Stations of the Kiso Kaidō' is a series of ukiyoe woodblock prints created by Keisai Eisen and Utagawa Hiroshige between 1834 and 1836. It depicts 69 stops along the Nakasendo, also known as the Kiso Kaidō, connecting Tokyo and Kyoto. You can view the entire series on this great website. (Although we haven't seen the rainy version of Oiwake reproduced in the post-war publications).

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Image information: Karuizawa is one of the best-known in the series as the first station on the ancient highway, it serves as the setting for one of Hiroshige’s most evocative nocturnal masterpieces. It skillfully depicts a mundane scene of two bonfires rising above the sky, someone is burning some stubble. A traveler and a horse driver make a pause to light their tobacco pipes in a rural farming village. A small inscription, “いせり" (Iseri), adorns the rider’s lamp, referring to Iseya Rihei, the publisher, whose seal (林) is subtly integrated into the horse’s girth. Far in the distance, the majestic silhouette of Mt. Asama rises against the night sky.

The artist’s innovative treatment of light imbues this nocturnal scene with depth and intrigue.

This particular print is a post-war reproduction by O-edo Mokuhansha.

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