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Nihonbashi: Daimyō Procession Setting Out, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road

Utagawa Hiroshige

Asian Art

The Tokaido road connected Edo to Kyoto, running along the Pacific coast. Along the route stood fifty-three post towns, each of which is depicted in this series. Hiroshige’s first journey on the Tokaido in 1832 inspired him to embark on this project, which is also known as the Hoeido Tokaido, after the publisher. The series brought unmatched fame to Hiroshige as a landscape designer. This image is the first in the series but comes from a later edition in which figures were added to the crowd of vendors in the foreground; it depicts a feudal procession led by standard-bearers coming over the bridge.
MEDIUM Color woodblock print on paper
  • Place Made: Japan
  • DATES ca. 1833–1834
    PERIOD Edo Period
    DIMENSIONS 9 3/8 x 14 1/4 in. (23.8 x 36.2 cm)  (show scale)
    MARKINGS Publishers: Takenouchi Magohachi (Hoeidō) Censor seal: in left margin (unusual edition)
    SIGNATURE Hiroshige ga (広重画), lower right
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 79.253.10
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Maurice H. Cottle
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Ōban. First image from the series "53 Stations of the Tokaido." Depicts the activities along Nihonbashi bridge in Edo. Several versions of this image exist, all apparently designed by Hiroshige. This is a somewhat later version, including additional figures in the foreground for a more crowded composition. Condition: Trimmed at lower border. Surface rubbed.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797–1858). Nihonbashi: Daimyō Procession Setting Out, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road, ca. 1833–1834. Color woodblock print on paper, 9 3/8 x 14 1/4 in. (23.8 x 36.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Maurice H. Cottle, 79.253.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 79.253.10_IMLS_PS3.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 79.253.10_IMLS_PS3.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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