Hiroshige: Tie-Dyeing Fabric at Station Narumi (Sold)

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
Title: Station Narumi, station 41 on the Tokaido Road 鳴海
Series: Fifty-three Stations [of the Tôkaidô Road] (Gojusan tsugi); Also known as the Jinbutsu, or Figure Tokaido 五十三次
Date: 1852

An elderly traveler and his female companion stop to borrow charcoal to relight their tobacco pipes at a workspace in Narumi. The woman who is working at right seems to be in the process of producing Arimatsu Narumi Shibori, the famous die-dye fabrics that are produced in the area around Nagoya. She is using both hands to twist a length of undyed fabric. Tall drying racks are seen at right, an array of the finished examples of the different types of shibori fabrics, which flutter beautifully in the breeze. It is actually quite rare to see craftspeople engaging in their trade like this in ukiyo-e, so this is an exceptional work. Hiroshige produced more than three dozen Tokaido series following the success of the Hoeido Tokaido in 1833. This one is known as the “Figure Tokaido” or the “Mankind’ Tokaido”, as the individuals feature prominantly, rather than being bit players to the landscape as with most of his other Tokaido series.

Dimensions: chûban 24.5 x 17.5 
Publisher: Muraichi
Signature: Hiroshige ga

SKU: HIR524