Artist: Ando Hiroshige
Medium: Original Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title: The Fifty-Three Stations along the Tōkaidō
Edition: Original
Date: c.1832
Publisher: Takenouchi Magohachi (Hoeido)
Reference No.: Royal Academy of Arts, London
Size: 9 -1/4 x 14 -1/2 "
Condition: Fine
Notes: Ascending the steep slope, a daimyo procession approaches the wooden gate outside Kameyama, a castle town presided over by the lord of the Kameyama clan. The soldiers’ blue coats and yellow sedge hats are visible through the snowy trees. Next to the gate, a stone rampart topped by a watchtower serves to fortify the town’s entrance and guard the clan’s stronghold.
Kameyama and Kanbara (on view nearby) are the only snow scenes in the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road series, and both are greatly admired. Kanbara conveys the faint light of a snowstorm, while Kameyama pictures a bright, clear day following a snowfall. Blue shading along the print’s top edge and pink shading at the horizon provide a striking contrast to the snow-laden, monochromatic landscape.
The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, is a series created in 1832. The works document Hiroshige’s trip throughout the Tōkaidō Road. Although the roadways of the Tōkaidō have existed since at least 646 AD, the highway was rebuilt and upgraded in 1601 under the rule of shōgun (military dictator) Tokugawa Ieyasu. At that time, the Tōkaidō’s 53 stations were established. Later, additional post town stations were added to the Tōkaidō, so some historical records show the Tōkaidō with as many as 57 stations.