Pictures of Famous Places on the Fifty-three Stations (Vertical Tokaido) - Hiroshige's fantastic vertical Tokaido series was done in 1855 and represents a further evolution of his landscape design style, including some of his most modern designs. One of the striking features of this beautiful series was the vertical format, since the more common format for the landscape print was the horizontal. This unique approach allowed Hiroshige to experiment with the foreground and background contrasts that are typical of his work and seen in some of his other vertical landscape series. The concept for the vertical Tokaido grew out of the incredible popularity of the Hoeido Tokaido (his first Tokaido series). Hiroshige wanted to expand on the theme, as the public was very interested in his fascinating images of life and travels along the most important thoroughfare in Japan- the road from Edo to Kyoto. From the urban center of Edo, where the journey began, to the beautiful rural landscape of the provinces more far away, the series is a set of breathtaking illustrations of Edo period Japan.

Crossing the Forty-eight Rapids on the Road to Akiba near Kakegawa - Wonderful view of travelers wading through the water near Kakegawa. A porter carries a beauty on his back while another man guides a woman by the hand. Tall cliffs line the waterway on the left, and a large mountain looms in the distance. Nice shading in the water and sky.

Artist - Hiroshige (1797 - 1858)

Image Size - 13 1/2" x 8 3/4" + margins as shown

Condition - This print with excellent detail as shown. Thinning at top left corner, a few small thinning spots and holes, repaired. Faint toning, slight soiling, very slight rubbing near edges, slight glue residue in left margin with slight curling. Please see photos for details. Good overall.