Japanese print – Utagawa Hiroshige – Okazaki Station – 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō – Shōwa Edition

Ukiyo-e print, woodblock print. [Shōwa era re-edition using traditional woodblock printing techniques]

🎨 Artist : Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 signed Hiroshige ga 広重画

Publication date: Shōwa period, mid-20th century. Original edition from 1833-1834, Edo period.

📜 Publisher: most likely Yūyūdō 悠々洞
Original publisher: Hōeidō / Takenouchi Magohachi 保永堂竹内孫八

Engraver: Matsuda Torazō 松田寅藏
Printer : Endō Tadao 遠藤忠雄

📏 Size: ōban yoko-e, approximately 33.5 x 22.5 cm

Series : 東海道五拾三次之内 (Tōkaidō Gojūsan Tsugi no Uchi): The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō
Version: Great Tōkaidō, also called First Tōkaidō or Hoeidō Tōkaidō

Title : 岡崎 矢矧之橋 (Okazaki, Yahagi no hashi)
Station No. 38 of the Great Tōkaidō series: Okazaki-shuku, Yahagi Bridge

Origin: Japan, found in Tokyo prefecture

Subject:

This print belongs to the famous series of Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, one of Hiroshige's great masterpieces. It depicts Okazaki-shuku, an important post town on the ancient road connecting Edo and Kyōto, known for its immense wooden bridge crossing the Yahagi River, near Okazaki Castle.

On the long Yahagi Bridge, a procession of daimyō advances with porters, travelers, and servants, while the blue water, reeds, and low banks open up the landscape. In the distance, Okazaki-jō castle appears among the rooftops.

The composition is typical of Hiroshige's genius: the eye naturally follows the large diagonal of the bridge, crosses the procession, then reaches the castle, the grey hills, and the blue mountains. The lines of the bridge deck structure the entire image, while the gradations of bokashi blue give an impression of space and freshness.

Through this scene of the Yahagi Bridge, one finds the entire spirit of Edo period Japan: official travels, post stations, daimyo processions, water landscapes, distant castles, and the small human figures that lend all the poetry to great Japanese prints.

Condition:

Print in very good condition, with beautiful margins. Luminous colors, clear impression, fine and pleasant Japanese paper, very good quality of execution. Mentions of engraver Matsuda Torazō and printer Endō Tadao visible in the right margin.

🦝 Our opinion:

This print by Hiroshige is superb. The great Yahagi Bridge crosses almost the entire image like a scene suspended over the water, with this procession advancing towards Okazaki. We particularly like the contrast between the highly structured architecture of the bridge, the deep blue of the river, and the silhouette of the castle appearing in the distance. It is a print that represents the Tokaido series very well.

A very beautiful, authentic and refined Shōwa re-edition, ideal for ukiyo-e enthusiasts, collectors of Japanese woodblock prints, or simply lovers of Japanese art.