Shono from the Fifty-three Stations on Tokaido Highway, Hoeido version

While both Hoeido and Senkakudo published this series of prints, this version is known as the Hoeido version because they continued to publish the series after the other publisher stopped. Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) is thought to have created this series in 1832 after his experience of accompanying an entourage of horses being sent as gifts from the shogunate to the imperial court. This was Hiroshige’s first Tokaido series, and he later created various other series on the theme. The prints are considered the premier images of the subject in terms of their composition, use of color and sensitivity, and they became wildly popular as soon as they were published. The Tokaido highway ran through various seacoast provinces and was renowned for the rich beauty of its mountain, river, and ocean scenery. In these works Hiroshige imbued his images of the people living near these watery sites and their everyday lives with a uniquely special lyricism.