Lot 80A

The 514 km long Tokaido Road linked the shogun's capital of Edo (present day Tokyo) and the imperial capital Kyoto. In 1832, Hiroshige travelled with an entourage of the shogun's officials along the fifty-three 'halting places' which started at Nihonbashi (Japan Bridge) in Edo and finished at the Great Sanjo Bridge in Kyoto. Roughly translated as "eastern sea route", the trip encompassed many 'meisho', literally famous sites, such as Mt. Fuji but also rural enclaves and winding mountain passes and hazardous river crossings. It was to be a life-changing journey, for as an urban man of Edo, Hiroshige had experienced life mainly in the capital. He immediately returned to Edo after the trip and began his masterwork woodblock series from the sketches he had made along the journey. Published from 1833-1834, the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido earned Hiroshige great popular and critical acclaim during his lifetime and for generations to come.