Yokkaichi, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō
Other Titles
Yokkaichi 四日市, from the series Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi 東海道五十三次
Abstract
In this image of the forty-fourth station of the Tōkaidō, Hokusai shows a fragment of the commercial life of this port town, the name of which literally means "the market on the fourth day," because of a major fare that took place there on the fourth day of every month. The stone inscription on the righthand side reads "Sangu michi" - a road off the Tōkaidō that led to a Shinto shrine. The depicte d travelers are passing by a teahouse that sells, according to another inscription, manjū (dough buns filled with sweet bean paste).
Accession Number
C00.1755.038
Format
prints
Culture
Japanese (culture or style)
Genre
Landscapes (representations)
Origin Information
Edo (Tokyo), Japan
Date
ca. 1806
Physical Description
1 print ; sheet 8 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. (22.2 x 16.5 cm)
Note (Period)
Edo period
Note (Medium/support)
Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper
This series of images illustrating the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō is characteristic of Hokusai's style in the early 1800s, when, unlike several decades later, the artist focused on figures instead of landscape and used the traditional narrati ve device of cloud patterns.