No. 65 c. 1835 - 1838

Utagawa Hiroshige’s “No. 65” is a woodblock print made in Japan, part of the series *Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō*, which likely dates to the 1830s. These prints are products of the Edo period, when Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate, and they offer a glimpse into the social conditions of the time. This work depicts travelers on the road from Edo, now Tokyo, to Kyoto, the imperial capital. The figures are rendered in a way that emphasizes their social roles. We see merchants, peasants, and samurai. The landscape serves as a backdrop for the human activities, suggesting the relationship between people and the environment. It’s a relationship of labor and production. Hiroshige’s *ukiyo-e*, or "pictures of the floating world," were originally made for popular consumption, and they reflect the values and interests of the urban middle class. By studying the social history of the Edo period and researching the iconography of these prints, we can gain a deeper understanding of their cultural significance. Art, after all, never exists in a vacuum; it’s a product of its time and place.