No. 51 c. 1835 - 1838

Utagawa Hiroshige created this woodblock print in Japan sometime in the 19th century. It depicts a scene of travelers resting near a large tree in Futami, part of the famed "Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō" series. These prints offer a window into the social and cultural landscape of Japan at this time. The Tōkaidō was the main road connecting Edo, modern-day Tokyo, with Kyoto, the imperial capital. Hiroshige's series captured not just the landscapes but the lives of people from different social classes journeying along this route. We see merchants, pilgrims, and samurai, all sharing the same road but with vastly different experiences. What interests me is how the series created a sense of national identity. It romanticized travel and connected people to a shared geography and history. To understand more, we might look at contemporary travel guides, diaries, and other prints from the period. This will help us to understand the world that the artwork captured and also helped to create.