Utagawa　Hiroshige　 1855 Travelers walk on a slope of the Toukaidou Highway in the rain. The gate of Kameyama Castle is illustrated on the top of the slope. The red lightning is seen in the sky, which is covered with dark clouds. The series, “Views of Famous Places of Fifty-three Stations of the Toukaidou” was produced in 1855, when Hiroshige was 59 years old, and this is his last Toukaidou series. This series is also called “The Toukaidou in Vertical Pictures” since it is produced as the series of vertical pictures. It is considered the vertical composition is not suitable for landscape pictures since it is difficult to find the good balance in the space. However Hiroshige, the master of landscape pictures used this composition in a distinctive way, created the masterpiece series.

Utagawa　Hiroshige　 1855 he scenery of pine-tree-lined path and porters carrying nagamochi (large wooden container) are illustrated. Since decorations of fan, parasol and gohei (The wooden wands decorated with shide, the zigzagging paper streamers, used in Shinto rituals.) are attached to the nagamochi, it is considered that they are carrying things related to auspicious occasions. The ancient site of the “Shiratori-zuka (Mound)” was believed as the cemetery of Yamato Takeru no Mikoto, a legendary prince of the Yamato dynasty. According to a legend, after Takeru no Mikoto died, he flew away from the cemetery by changing his body into a bird , thus Shiratori-zuka became the name of this place. . The ancient site of the “Shiratori-zuka ( Mound)” was believed as the cemetery of Yamato Takeru no Mikoto, a legendary prince of the Yamato dynasty. According to a legend, after Takeru no Mikoto died, he flew away from the cemetery by changing his body into a Bird, thus Shiratori-zuka became the name of this place. The series, “Views of Famous Places of Fifty-three Stations of the Toukaidou” was produced in 1855, when Hiroshige was 59 years old, and this is his last Toukaidou series. This series is also called “The Toukaidou in Vertical Pictures” since it is produced as the series of vertical pictures. It is considered the vertical composition is not suitable for landscape pictures since it is difficult to find the good balance in the space. However Hiroshige, the master of landscape pictures used this composition in a distinctive way, created the masterpiece series.

Utagawa　Hiroshige　 1855 According to a legend, Minamoto no Noriyori, a half-brother of Yoshitsune, prayed for victory in the battle against Heiji Clan, and planted a branch of a cherry tree, up side down to the ground. The branch became a large cherry tree, as depicted in this picture and it is now known as “Yoshitsune Zakura”, Yoshitsune Cherry Tree. This picture was one of the works that were appears in Vincent van Gogh’s famous work “Portrait of Père Tanguy”. The series, “Views of Famous Places of Fifty-three Stations of the Toukaidou” was produced in 1855, when Hiroshige was 59 years old, and this is his last Toukaidou series. This series is also called “The Toukaidou in Vertical Pictures” since it is produced as the series of vertical pictures. It is considered the vertical composition is not suitable for landscape pictures since it is difficult to find the good balance in the space. However Hiroshige, the master of landscape pictures used this composition in a distinctive way, created the masterpiece series.

Utagawa　Hiroshige　 1855 Serpentine Mie River (Mitaki River), that starts from the foreground, suddenly disappears from the middle of the picture and the port of Yokkaichi extends in the background of the picture. Ise Bay was famous with the view of mirage and in other prints, the view of Yokkaichi is often depicted with mirage. Although mirage is not depicted in this work, using the mysterious color, ships that are at anchor in the harbor and pine wood are depicted as mirage. The series, “Views of Famous Places of Fifty-three Stations of the Toukaidou” was produced in 1855, when Hiroshige was 59 years old, and this is his last Toukaidou series. This series is also called “The Toukaidou in Vertical Pictures” since it is produced as the series of vertical pictures. It is considered the vertical composition is not suitable for landscape pictures since it is difficult to find the good balance in the space. However Hiroshige, the master of landscape pictures used this composition in a distinctive way, created the masterpiece series.

Utagawa　Hiroshige　 1855 “The 7-ri (7-ri is about 28 km) Ferry” that connected Miya post station and Kuwana post station was the only the sea route along the Toukaidou Highway and it took four hours to cross the sea route. In this picture, the ferry crossing the sea is depicted in the foreground and the scene of people relaxing on the boat is depicted. On the right, a small food-shop boat is depicted, and they sell meals to the passengers on the ferry. The series, “Views of Famous Places of Fifty-three Stations of the Toukaidou” was produced in 1855, when Hiroshige was 59 years old, and this is his last Toukaidou series. This series is also called “The Toukaidou in Vertical Pictures” since it is produced as the series of vertical pictures. It is considered the vertical composition is not suitable for landscape pictures since it is difficult to find the good balance in the space. However Hiroshige, the master of landscape pictures used this composition in a distinctive way, created the masterpiece series.

Utagawa　Hiroshige　 1855　 A big torii gate welcomes travelers arriving at the town of Miya. The depicted gate is Hama Torii Gate of Atsuta Jingu Shrine and Miya was flourished with many visitors of Atsuta Jingu Shrine. The gate of “The 7-ri (7-ri is about 28 km) Ferry” was also located in this town and this place became a distribution base of various goods. The prosperity of the town is expressed with the scene of the boats arriving at the port, one after another, and many boats fill the harbor. The series, “Views of Famous Places of Fifty-three Stations of the Toukaidou” was produced in 1855, when Hiroshige was 59 years old, and this is his last Toukaidou series. This series is also called “The Toukaidou in Vertical Pictures” since it is produced as the series of vertical pictures. It is considered the vertical composition is not suitable for landscape pictures since it is difficult to find the good balance in the space. However Hiroshige, the master of landscape pictures used this composition in a distinctive way, created the masterpiece series.

Utagawa　Hiroshige　 1855 Narumi post station was located near Arimatsu village and this village became famous with the local product “Arimatsu Shibori“, the high quality tie-dye textile. Fully utilizing the vertical composition, the scene of drying pieces of Arimatsu Shibori clothes is depicted in the foreground. The series, “Views of Famous Places of Fifty-three Stations of the Toukaidou” was produced in 1855, when Hiroshige was 59 years old, and this is his last Toukaidou series. This series is also called “The Toukaidou in Vertical Pictures” since it is produced as the series of vertical pictures. It is considered the vertical composition is not suitable for landscape pictures since it is difficult to find the good balance in the space. However Hiroshige, the master of landscape pictures used this composition in a distinctive way, created the masterpiece series.

Utagawa　Hiroshige　 1855 Yatsuhashi was known with a scene from “The Tale of Ise”, a collection of waka poems written in the Heian period. In the story, a nobleman who was struck with the beauty of blooming irises at Yatsuhashi, shed tears thinking about his beloved wife, whom he left at Kyoto. As depicted in this picture, there were no irises bloomed at Yatsuhashi in the Edo period, and agricultural fields extend. Only a stone pillar indicated that this place used to be a historic site. The series, “Views of Famous Places of Fifty-three Stations of the Toukaidou” was produced in 1855, when Hiroshige was 59 years old, and this is his last Toukaidou series. This series is also called “The Toukaidou in Vertical Pictures” since it is produced as the series of vertical pictures. It is considered the vertical composition is not suitable for landscape pictures since it is difficult to find the good balance in the space. However Hiroshige, the master of landscape pictures used this composition in a distinctive way, created the masterpiece series.