Utagaw Kuniyoshi
Production date:1844-47

In the caption, the anecdote of Minamoto no Yoritomo that took place at the Iwai Village near Mitsuke post station is written. Yoritomo who intended to check the saying “A crane has a life of a thousand years.” released several cranes after putting the golden tags that the name of the era was inscribed. It is told, that people still see the cranes with the golden tags at Iwai Village after 600 years from the age of Yoritomo. In the picture, Yoritomo and his vassals are watching the cranes to fly away.

This is a part of the Toukaidou series ukiyo-e, but unlike the other works that focus on the landscapes and views of post stations, in this series the scenes based on legends, tales, kabuki drama, and joururi plays that relate to each post station are illustrated. On the upper part of each work, an explanatory note is written and the picture relates to the notes is illustrated on the lower half. This series was rare since three very popular artists from Utagawa School, Hiroshige, Kuniyoshi and Kunisada (Toyokuni III) were all involved to produce the series together. Furthermore, six publishers were collaborated to produce this series.
(In this exhibition, works by Utagawa Hiroshige and Utagawa Kuniyoshi are displayed.)