Hiroshige 広重: Station Okazaki from the People Tokaido 岡崎 (SOLD)

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

We see two women rinsing fabric in the Yahagi River, their sleeves tied back and their hems lifted for their work. One wrings out a length of fabric, while her companion carries her wooden laundry tub towards the shore. Behind them is a wooden bridge (assumedly the Yahagi Bridge that is seen on the Hoeido Tokaido view of this station) spanning the river, as well as a man poling a log raft against a stand of bamboo on the far shore. Okazaki was the 39th station on the Tokaido Road.  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 prominently, rather than being background players to the landscape as with most of his other Tokaido series. What is especially charming about this example is the woodgrain in the blue river that seems to mimic an eddy in the flowing water.

Dimensions: chûban 24.5 x 17.5 
Publisher: Muraichi
Signature: Hiroshige ga
Literature: See the Art Institute of Chicago online, MFA.
Condition: Excellent impression and color; very good  condition. Backed.

SKU: HIR523