Sakanoshita: Fudesute Mountain (Sakanoshita, Fudesute mine), from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road (Tōkaidō gojÅ«san tsugi no uchi), also known as the First Tōkaidō or Great Tōkaidō c. 1833 - 1834

Editor: This print, "Sakanoshita: Fudesute Mountain" by Utagawa Hiroshige, part of the "Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road" series, feels so meticulously balanced. There's a real contrast between the dramatic mountain and the calm figures at the resting place. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The mountain, Fudesute, means 'discarded brush.' It resonates with a cultural memory of artistic frustration and renewal. Note how the stark lines contrast with the softer, more communal scene at the rest stop. Editor: So the discarded brush symbolizes a creative block? Curator: Perhaps. Or the courage to abandon one's work and start anew, finding inspiration in the everyday. The image becomes a meditation on the journey, both literal and artistic. Editor: That's fascinating. I never considered the title's symbolic weight within the larger narrative of the Tōkaidō journey. Curator: Exactly. Hiroshige weaves a complex tapestry of lived experience and cultural metaphor.