Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Hōeidō edition)
Fujikawa: Scene at the Border
藤川 · Fujikawa
Utagawa Hiroshige · c. 1833–34
What it is
At the border post of Fujikawa, the thirty-seventh station, villagers kneel and bow as a lord’s procession comes down the slope through the gate.
Why it matters
Hiroshige shows the manners of the road: the procession passing, the townspeople on their knees beside it.
What to notice
The procession curves down the hill in a long line, and the kneeling figures form a still row beside the gate.
The road belongs to whoever is passing, and everyone else bows.
The record
- Artist
- Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797–1858)
- Series
- Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Hōeidō edition)
- Date
- c. 1833–34
- Publisher
- Hōeidō (Takenouchi Magohachi)
- Medium
- woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Source
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art · JP2483
Impression note. Hiroshige made the series after his first trip along the Tōkaidō in 1832, and it became the best-selling set of ukiyo-e prints, so impressions vary widely in strength and colour. This is the largest clean open impression of the design the Met holds. Impression variance is real — printings differ in wiping and fading — and choosing the finest openly held impression is the curatorial act.
Public domain; faithfully reproduced.
Bring it home
Printed to order on EMA matte art paper, 200gsm.
From the same series
Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Hōeidō edition)Nihonbashi: Morning SceneUtagawa Hiroshige · c. 1833–34
Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Hōeidō edition)Shinagawa: SunriseUtagawa Hiroshige · c. 1833–34
Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Hōeidō edition)Hakone: The LakeUtagawa Hiroshige · c. 1833–34
Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Hōeidō edition)Mishima: Morning MistUtagawa Hiroshige · c. 1833–34The road at your moment — Painted Earth’s ukiyo-e style pack.