305 - Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858)

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō (a series created jointly with Hiroshige, Kunisada, and Kuniyoshi) Station No. 11: The Mishima Festival on the 6th Day of the 1st Month, or the New Year’s Rice-Planting Festival Rather than depicting the station’s traditional misty landscape, Hiroshige chose to portray a festival celebrated on January 6 at the Mishima Shrine to ensure bountiful harvests. Upper cartouche: Shaped like a stylized heart (or the Buddhist “Inome” motif), it offers a view of the Mishima Shrine surrounded by sacred Japanese cedar trees, with the silhouette of Mount Fuji rising against the horizon. The text describes the founding of the shrine by the deity Mishima Daimyojin. Woodblock print Signed: “Hiroshige ga” on the left side of the print, followed by the artist’s red seal Period: Edo (1845/46 (Koka 2–3)) Seal: round nanushi Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburo (Dansendo) Format: Oban tate-e Numerous binding holes. A few wormholes. Left margin slightly trimmed. Slight soiling.