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| Hiroshige: Shōno |
This print by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) shows Shōno, the 45th station of the Tōkaidō. A scene where passengers are surprised by rain.
Tōkaidō,
along which Hiroshige had the opportunity to travel in 1832, was
the road connecting the capital of the Shogun, Edo, with the capital
of the Emperor, Kyoto.
The
stations were post stations, and travellers had to have an official
permit in order to cross a station. Travelling freely was not
permitted in old Japan. Hiroshige's trip, however, resulted in the
famous series The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō,
1833-1834, from which Shōno is taken. The series is Hiroshige's best known work and one of the most famous works of ukiyo-e.
See also:
Hiroshige: Kanbara