The Lake at Hakone

by Hiroshige (1797 - 1858)

Current Status

The Lake at Hakone by Hiroshige (1797 - 1858)

Hiroshige (1797 - 1858) Japanese Woodblock Reprint
The Lake at Hakone

Series; Hoeido Tokaido

Hiroshige’s Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido - In 1832 Hiroshige traveled with an entourage of the shogun’s officials from Edo (Tokyo) to Kyoto along the Tokaido road. This journey was an eye opening and life changing experience for him. As an urban man of Edo he had experienced life mainly in the capital. His journey along the Tokaido, through the rural enclaves and natural beauty of his country, had a deep impact on Hiroshige. He immediately returned to Edo after the trip and began his masterwork woodblock series from the sketches he had made along the amazing journey. Hiroshige’s Tokaido offers the opportunity to be transported back in time to Hiroshige’s Japan in the shadow of the Tokogawa shogunate and to see experience Japan through the eyes of a woodblock print master.

This Meiji Period Tokaido Reprint - In 1896 (Meiji 29) the descendents of the original Tokaido publisher, Hoeido, embarked on a fantastic project, a commemorative release of their most famous publishing project - Hiroshige's fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido. The blocks for this series were no longer in existence and they recut a new set of blocks for the entire series. As the original publisher of the Hiroshige's masterwork series, Hoeido held the rights to release a reprint edition produced exactly as the first one was produced. Artists painstakingly recut a set of blocks for each print and printed the new set. The result was a fantastic re-release of Hiroshige's masterwok series. Hoeido published 500 reprint sets of the Hoeido series and then halted production. So, these sets are very rare today.

While Hiroshige's Hoeido Tokaido was reprinted by several different publishers in the 20th century, this series is, without a doubt, the finest reprint series beautifully emulating Hiroshige's original. With the pedigree of the original publisher, the beautiful aged quality of the prints, and the excellent craftsmanship, these prints are a nice opportunity to collect fine old Tokaido woodblock reprints if you find the originals out of your budget. Bid or buy now from this rare group!

The Lake at Hakone - Lovely, classic Hiroshige design from his "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" series. A daimyo's party makes its way up a steep mountain peak at right. The lake at Hakone can be seen below, with Mt. Fuji silhouetted in white rising above the horizon.

Artist - Hiroshige (1797 - 1858)

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

Condition - With excellent color and detail as shown. Backed with paper. Faint toning near the edges. Please see photos for details. Nice condition overall.

The Lake at Hakone by Hiroshige (1797 - 1858)
The Lake at Hakone by Hiroshige (1797 - 1858)