Kuwana c. 1832 - 1833

This print, Kuwana, was made by Utagawa Hiroshige using woodblock printing. The technique involves carving a design into a block of wood, inking it, and then pressing paper against the block to transfer the image. It's a labor-intensive process, requiring great skill. The woodblock printing method influenced the image’s appearance, with the medium giving the artwork a distinct graphic quality. It's evident in the crisp lines defining the boats, waves, and buildings, and the flat planes of color, especially in the sky. The textures and details in the print speak to the artist's mastery and the craft tradition involved. Kuwana is from a series called Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, a set of prints depicting the locations of rest stops along the road connecting Edo (now Tokyo) to Kyoto. These prints were inexpensive, widely available, and are closely tied to social issues of labor, politics, and consumption in nineteenth-century Japan. Looking closely at the material of this work, and the process by which it was made, gives us a fresh perspective on the print’s place in the history of art and design.