Antique Original Japanese Woodblock Print -Okabe- Hiroshige 53 Stations/Gyosho c.1841
This beautiful Japanese chuban-size woodblock print was created in the early 1840s by the renowned Edo-period artist Utagawa (Ando) Hiroshige (1797-1858) and re-cut and reprinted around 1970 by the Kyoeido Publishing Company.
The print is titled "Okabe", number 22 from the series “52 Stations of the Tokaido Road” (Tokaido gojūsan tsugi no uchi). The first series, published in 1832-34, was so successful that he created 30 more series on the same subject in different formats and settings. This print belongs to another series with the same name created by Hiroshige. It is a slightly smaller-sized series that Hiroshige published in 1841-44, and is usually called “Gyoshu Tokaido” or "Semi-cursive Tokaido" for the calligraphic inscriptions.
Okabe-juku was one of the post towns along the historic Tōkaidō Highway, located in present-day Shizuoka Prefecture. Travelers crossing the rugged Utsunoya Pass, one of the route's most challenging sections, were rewarded with the famous Ten Dango ("Ten Dumplings"). According to local legend, the dumplings originated as protection against a man-eating demon.
The Tokaido was one of the Five Routes constructed under Tokugawa Ieyasu, a series of roads linking the historical capital of Edo with the rest of Japan. The Tokaido connected Edo with Kyoto, then the capital. The most important and well-traveled of these, the Tōkaidō, traveled along the eastern coast of Honshū, thus giving rise to the name Tōkaidō ("Eastern Sea Road"). Along this road, 53 post stations provided travelers with stables, food, and lodging. Since the Tokugawa shogunate eased domestic travel restrictions in the late 18th – early 19th centuries, the journey from Edo to Kyoto and from Kyoto to Edo became very popular – hence the popularity of the “53 Stations of the Tokaido” series. Hokusai was the first to develop the idea and create his version. Hiroshige followed up his success with his own series, which became even more popular.
The series is called "Gyosho Tokaido" because the titles of the individual prints are written in Japanese semi-cursive (gyosho).
Please note - this is the original Hiroshige lifetime print in very good condition, not a re-cut and reprint.
AUTHOR: Utagawa (Ando) Hiroshige
TITLE: "No. 22: Okabe; View of Mount Utsu" ((Okabe Utsu-no-yama no zu))
SERIES: Fifty-three Stations of the Tôkaidô Road (Tokaido gojūsan tsugi no uchi) / Gyosho Tokaido
CREATED: c.1841-1844
PUBLISHER: Ezakiya Kichibei (Tenjudo)
PAPER: washi paper
METHOD OF PRINTING: Woodblock printing
PRINTED: Hiroshige lifetime printing c.1840s
PRINT SIZE: 13" X 8.5"
Good detail and color; some toning and soiling of the paper; no holes or repairs
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