The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tôkaidô (Kichizo Edition): #54 Otsu
Utagawa Hiroshige
Description
In his lifetime, Hiroshige created many print series depicting stations along the Tôkaidô Road, the most heavily travelled route among the six highways developed in Japan during the Edo period. Hiroshige not only shows landscapes along the highway, but provides scenes of everyday life and customs among its travelers.
Here Hiroshige allows a glimpse of rice transport in the early morning in Ôtsu, one of the fifty-three stations of the Tôkaidô Road and capitol of Ômi province. The boats in the harbor of Lake Biwa are stacked high with the golden hue of ripe rice stalks, while workers on the pier carry heavy bundles. Rice was a staple in the diet as well as in the social structure of the Edo period. People of all classes were often paid in rice, and it was the currency for payment of taxes.
exhibited summer 2010
Subject Matter:
Rice transport in the early morning in Ôtso, a stop on the Tôkaidô and capitol of Shiga prefecture. The boats in the harbor of Lake Biwa are stacked high with the golden hue of ripe rice stalks, while workers on the pier carry heavy bundles.
Physical Description:
A view of bearers and attendants and four sailboats moored at a stone pier. A small lighthouse is located near the pier, and in the distance is a mountain range. The sky is tinged red, and writing is located in the upper right corner and lower left side. Title in red box in upper right corner.
Usage Rights:
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