Yoshitsuya 芳艶: Station Yoshiwara with Shogunal Procession

Artist: Utagawa Yoshitsuya 芳艶 (1822-1866)
Title:  Station Yoshiwara

Two tall pines crisscross our view of the orderly rows of samurai in traveling gear as they surround the man of power at the center, who is on horseback and has a parasol carried above his head in honor. We see another group of men in slightly different colors rounding a bend in the road in road behind the first group. They seem to be carrying a very large scaffold of sorts for an enormous banner, and Mount Fuji is shown rising in the upper left. This series was intended to project the wealth and power of the shogunate, but this power system only lasted for a few more years, as Emperor Meiji came to power in 1867. 

From the series known as the Processional Tokaido, which was  commissioned by the authorities to promote the shogun’s procession from Edo to Kyoto in 1863. Sixteen of the major print artists of the time were enlisted for this large project, from the youthful Yoshitoshi to the elderly Kunisada. 

Series: Scenes of Famous Places along the Tokaido Road (also known as the Processional Tokaido) Tokaido meisho fukei

Date: 1863
Condition: Excellent impression and color; very good condition. Some wrinkles.
Dimensions:  35 x 25 cm

Signed: Ichieisai Yoshitsuya ga

Literature: Andreas Marks, When the Shogun Travels to Kyoto: The Great Processional Tokaido Series, in Andon 81, Society for Japanese Arts, 2007.

SKU: YOC077S