Description
Precious original woodblock print made by the artist Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重) and taken from the “Fifty-three Stations [of the Tokaido]” (五十三次), a series better known as “Jinbutsu Tokaido” (人物東海道), that is the “Figure Tokaido”, a title deriving from the fact that all the designs of the collection show the human figures not just as tiny decorations but as important elements in the foreground of each station.
The work is dedicated to the Hodogaya station (程ヶ谷宿), located in the modern city of Yokohama (横浜市), and depicts two women at a refreshment point and next to some noren (暖簾) that advertise the companies “Utashige” (歌重) and “Muraichi” (村市): two fictional brands elaborated as two puns and which are respectively the abbreviation of the names of the famous artist as well as of his publisher.
The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), produced in 1852 by the publisher Murataya Ichigoro (村田屋市五郎), despite the right signs of aging and in particular the presence of a small hole on the lower margin as well as binding holes on the right, is in good condition.
