Art and Culture in Edo Japan

Exploring the ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) of Hiroshige, Kuniyoshi, and Hokusai—and the global impact of Edo culture.

Hakone; Kosui from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, Utagawa Hiroshige ca. 1833-1834. Via the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In 1832, a 35-year-old Utagawa Hiroshige received the opportunity of a lifetime: an invitation to travel the Tōkaidō highway from Edo to Kyoto as a member of the Shogun’s envoy. The envoy would embark on a journey to the imperial court and present a gift of horses to the emperor.

Travel was restricted in Edo Japan, and Hiroshige knew he had to make the most of the trip. At each stop, the artist captured images of busy markets, provincial towns, and rural landscapes. His evocative prints made ample use of new pigments that were hitting the market, such as Prussian blue.¹ Furthermore, the bold hues and elevation of ordinary life present in his work would have a global impact; in particular, the Impressionists would find inspiration in his woodblock prints, and those of other Japanese artists. Today, the series born from his journey, called Fifty-three Sta…