Nissaka Sayo no Nakayama c. 1832 - 1833

Curator: Good morning. I find this image really engaging, its verticality contrasting to the flat, expansive composition overall. Editor: Yes! At first glance, the immediate feel is one of gentle, arduous travel, the people small in this much grander landscape. The whole image breathes, doesn't it? Curator: Indeed. What you are seeing here is Utagawa Hiroshige's woodblock print, Nissaka Sayo no Nakayama, dating back to about 1832 or 1833. It belongs to a series depicting scenes along the Tokaido Road, an important route linking Edo, present-day Tokyo, with Kyoto. It now resides at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Editor: I love how the artist uses the diagonal path to draw our eye into the heart of the print. The trees frame it all, like nature’s proscenium arches! I can almost hear the rustling leaves. Curator: The landscape wasn't merely picturesque for Hiroshige; it carried political and cultural significance. During the Edo period, travel restrictions were in place, so this road represented a controlled space. Think about the narrative of permitted movement and the social dynamics between classes and individuals. Editor: That adds another layer to the experience—not just aesthetic enjoyment but also considering those rules of movement and freedom back then. This scene feels so timeless. It’s a landscape, yes, but one full of people and history embedded in that upward winding trail. Curator: Woodblock prints like these also made art more accessible to a wider public. The medium itself was almost democratic in that way. We aren't talking about one-off paintings available only to the elite; this scene could be distributed more widely. Editor: I agree, it also democratizes seeing itself! It captures something essential about nature—the shared journey—that everyone, in some sense, can access. Looking at art this way opens all of our sensibilities. Curator: I'd say that it has helped me reflect on the journey people take through art history, as much as on that hill depicted here. Editor: Likewise, I keep looking back at it from a fresh vantage point, like glimpsing an old friend in a new context. The print feels alive to me now.