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 handsome illustrations of Edo period Japan. This print is from the 1891 Memorial Edition.

Clouds of Dawn at Nihon Bridge - Fantastic panoramic view of the Nihonbashi in Edo as the sun rises, the starting point of the Tokaido road. The bridge is already crowded with pedestrians, and boatmen are busy with freight-laden boats on the river below. Mt. Fuji rises in the distance, and softly shaded clouds frame the scene. A wonderful composition and a terrific Hiroshige subject.

Artist - Hiroshige (1797 - 1858)

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

Condition - This print with excellent color and detail as shown. Slight separations at ends of vertical fold at right edge, thinning at corners, repaired. Slight soiling and ink offsetting, slight rubbing at edges, a few creases. Please see photos for details. Good overall.