Hiroshige & Eisen. The Sixty-Nine Stations along the Kisokaido

TASCHEN's coffee table book 'Hiroshige & Eisen. The Sixty-Nine Stations along the Kisokaido' presents an evocative journey along the route between Edo and Kyoto, an artifact of Japan's imperial past and a masterpiece of woodcarving. From babbling brooks to bustling villages, this reprint offers a rich tapestry of mid-19th-century Japan.

The Kisokaidō route across Japan was established in the early 17th century by then-ruler Tokugawa Ieyasu, who determined that posts should be established along the entire length of the arduous journey between Edo (present-day Tokyo) and Kyoto. Inns, stores and restaurants were established to provide food and shelter for weary travelers. In 1835, the famous woodcut artist Keisai Eisen was commissioned to create a series of works mapping the journey along the Kisokaidō. After making 24 prints, Eisen was replaced by Utagawa Hiroshige, who completed the series of 70 prints in 1838.

Both Eisen and Hiroshige were masters of printmaking. In the picture book "Hiroshige & Eisen. The Sixty-Nine Stations along the Kisokaido' we see both the artists' different styles and their shared expertise. From the busy starting point of Nihonbashi to the castle town of Iwamurata, Eisen opts for a more subdued color palette, but excels in figuration, particularly of glamorous women, and enjoys snapshots of activities along the route, from shoeing a horse to winnowing rice. Hiroshige demonstrates his mastery of landscape depictions with grandiose and evocative scenes, whether on the peaceful banks of the Ota River, the inhospitable Wada Pass or a moonlit climb between Yawata and Mochizuki.

Specifications
Title: Hiroshige & Eisen. The Sixty-Nine Stations along the Kisokaido
Author: Rhiannon Paget
Publisher: Taschen
Size: 250 x 375 x 40 mm
Size: 236 pages
Weight: 2.40 kg
Language: English, French, German
Material: Hardcover
ISBN: 9783754403136

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