The Sixty-Nine Stations Along The Kisokaido

A visual delight and major artefact from the bygone era of Imperial Japan. A sumptuous, large-format reprint, from one of the finest surviving first editions, of Keisai Eisen and Utagawa Hiroshige’s legendary print series, ‘The Sixty-Nine Stations along the Kisokaido’, 1835-38. A historic trail through the heart of Japan, the Kisokaido route through was created in the early 1600s with staging posts along the length of the arduous passage between Edo (present-day Tokyo) and Kyoto. Inns, shops, and restaurants were established to provide sustenance and lodging to weary travellers. This vivid tapestry of 19th century Japan and Japanese life by two legendary woodblock artists is in equal parts a major artefact of its imperial past and a masterwork of woodblock practice. Begun by Eisen in 1835, 24 prints were produced; he was replaced by Hiroshige who completed the 70 prints in 1838. The work’s shared artistry highlights the artists’ distinct styles. From the busy starting post of Nihonbashi to the castle town of Iwamurata, Eisen opts for a more muted palette and relishes snapshots of activity along the route, from shoeing a horse to winnowing rice. Hiroshige demonstrates his mastery of landscape with grandiose and evocative scenes, from the peaceful banks of the Ota River, to the forbidding Wada Pass, or a moonlit ascent between Yawata and Mochizuki.