東海道五十三次 府中|Fuchu
ca. 1840
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Overall: 8 3/4 x 13 3/4in. (22.2 x 34.9cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Francis Lathrop Collection, Purchase, Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1911
Accession Number
JP770
Tags
Art Historical Context
Utagawa Hiroshige *Fuchu* (府中), from his renowned series *The Fifty-three of the Tōkaidō* (ca. 1840), captures a lively moment along Japan's historic coastal highway connecting Edo (modern Tokyo) to Kyoto. Created during the Edo period (5–1868), a time of relative peace and cultural flourishing, woodblock print depicts the bustling post station at Fuchu, where travelers—depicted as men, women, and horses—gathered for rest and relay changes. Hiroshige, a master of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") tradition, immortalized these roadside scenes, blending everyday life with poetic lan...
About the Artist
Utagawa Hiroshige · 1826–1869
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), born Andō Tokutarō, was the last great master of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock printmaking and one of the most influential landscape artists in history. Born in Edo (modern Tokyo) into a low-ranking samurai family serving as fire wardens, Hiroshige transformed landscape printmaking into a poetic meditation on nature, weather, and everyday life. His revolutionary approac...