Utagawa Hiroshige Production date:1844-47 Princess Joruri was a daughter of wealthy family of Yahagi, in Okazaki post station. When Yoshitsune stayed this house, she fell in love with Yoshitusne and followed him. The illustrated scene is Princess Joruri, who is about to leave her house before sunrise and her attendant, who gives a hat for her. Inside of the caption frame, the silhouette of the biggest bridge in Edo period, Yahagi Bridge is illustrated.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi 1844-47 Linking with the name of the place “Fujikawa”, Fujikawa Mizuemon is depicted. Mizuemon was known for his roles as a notorious villain in various kabuki plays.

Utagawa Hiroshige Production date:1844-47 Mt. Miyaji, which is located close to the Akasaka post station is famous as the viewing spot of autumn foliage. The figure illustrated on the right and holding a biwa (Japanese lute) is Fujiwara no Moronaga, a court noble of the late Heian period. According to the caption, when Moronaga played the lute while viewing the autumn leaves, a beautiful maiden appeared and sung to the lute accompaniment. This maiden is the avatar of the water god, and she confessed that she appeared in front of him attracted by the beautiful tune that he played. After that, she disappeared immediately. 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.)

Utagawa Kuniyoshi 1843-47 Yamamoto Kansuke was a well-known battle commander during the warring state period of Japan (1467–1590), and it is said he was from Goyu. The depicted scene is based on an anecdote that the future master of Kansuke, a powerful feudal lord called Takeda Shingen visited Kansuke’s humble residence when he asked Kansuke to be the battle commander of his army. The man depicted in the distance, on the left side of the picture is Takeda Shingen and the man standing inside of the house is Kansuke.

Utagawa Hiroshige 1843～47 The depicted scene is from a bestseller novel of the Edo period (1603-1868) “Tokaidochu Hizakurige (Shank’s Mare)”. This print shows one of the slapstick episodes of the two main characters of the story, Yaji and Kita, when they stay at Hamamatsu, the Toukaidou post station close to Futagawa post station. They were frightened and panicked by a female ghost, which turned out to only be a kimono drying in the wind. A woman depicted in a frame on the upper part reads this novel and says “I can enjoy reading this novel many times”.

Utagawa　Kunisada(Utagawa ToyokuniⅢ)　 1843～47 Yoshida post station flourished as a castle town of Yoshida Castle and this place was famous for Meshimori-onna (women employees who serve food for the customers of teahouses). It is thought that the depicted scene where a woman employee is calling down from the second floor of a tea house to invite a traveler to stay a while, was a well-known sight at post stations. In the background, Toyohashi Bridge, one of the big bridges along the Toukaidou Highway, is depicted.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi 1844-47 The bridge railing depicted behind the female figure is said to be Hamana Bridge, which had already disappeared by the time Kunisada produced this picture. Kunisada might have depicted this bridge based on his imagination and inspired by the available literature of the time that described the famous places along the Toukaidou Highway.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi Production date:1844-47 The illustrated figure is Kezori Kuemon, a character who appeared in the play of ningyou jyoruri (traditional puppet drama) “Hakata Kojorou Namimakura (The Adventures of Hakata Damsel)”. The link between Kezori and Maisaka post station is unclear. Since Maisaka was flourished as a “port” with the ships that crossed the Lake Hamana, Kezori, who was a “pirate” was considered to have has a link with it.