The Sixty-nine Post Stations of the
(Kisokaidô rokujűku tsugi)
1852-1853
The
Kisokaidô Road was an inland route connecting Edo (present day Tokyo) with
Kyoto. (The costal route between Edo and
Kyoto was the Tôkaidô Road). There were
sixty-nine rest stops along the Kisokaidô Road.
In this series, Kuniyoshi designed one print for each of the sixty-nine
rest stops plus prints for Edo and Kyoto, as well as a title page. The main design of each print portrays a
historical, legendary of fictional scene associated with the location. A small panel in each print shows a view of
the station. Most of the prints are
numbered, but there are slight inconsistencies in the numbering. The prints in this series are each about 14
by 10 inches (36 by 25 centimeters), a size known as ôban.
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Title page Number on print: none Publisher:
Minato-ya Kohei Robinson:
S74.1 NOTE: The sake barrel wrapped in straw is
inscribed |
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Station: Nihonbashi (bridge at the origin of the Number on print: 1 Main scene:
Sumô wrestlers Nuregami Katsunosuke
and Ukiyo Watabei quarrelling on the Nihonbashi watched by Ashikaga Yorikane Insert:
street scene Publisher:
Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke Robinson:
S74.2 |
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Station:
Itabashi Number on print: 2 Main scene:
Inudzuka Shino holding on to a tree in the water
while Sabojirô swims towards him and Totarô sits on a boat in the background (a scene from Bakin’s novel Hakkenden) Insert:
river scene Publisher:
Sumiyoshi-ya Masagorô Robinson:
S74.3 |
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Station: Warabi Number on print: 3 Main scene:
Inuyama Dôsetsu seated
amid flames with a magic pine branch wrapped in paper in his mouth Insert:
village road Publisher:
Idzutsu-ya Shôkichi Robinson:
S74.4 |
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Station: Number on print: 4 Main scene:
Uoya (fishmonger) Danshichi
emptying a bucket of water over himself to clean off mud Insert:
uphill road Publisher:
Sumiyoshi-ya Masagorô Robinson:
S74.5 |
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Station: Ômiya Number on print: 5 Main scene:
The captive rebel Abe no Munetô kneeling before
Minister Fujiwara no Mitsuyori Insert:
roadside teahouse Publisher:
Takeda-ya Takezô Robinson:
S74.6 |
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Station: Ageo Number on print: 6 Main scene:
The actor Bandô Shuka as the courtesan Miura no
Takao being weighed against oval gold coins, some stacked and wrapped in
paper Insert:
village and rice paddies Publisher:
Hayashi-ya Shôgorô Robinson:
S74.7 |
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Station: Okegawa Number on print: 7 Main scene:
Tamaya Shimbei imprisoned
in a huge wooden tub being given a drink by a girl under the direction of Kojorô Insert:
landscape with pine trees Publisher:
Sumiyoshi-ya Masagorô Robinson:
S74.8 |
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Station: Kônosu Number on print: none Main scene:
Musashi no Kami Moronao in the snow being hustled off to a hiding place
under firewood Insert:
roadside village with distant hills Publisher:
Yawata-ya Sakujirô Robinson:
S74.9 |
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Station: Kumagaya Number on print: 9 Main scene:
Kojirô Nao-iye armored
and mounted at the base of a castle wall on the shore of a lake Insert:
road with bearers carrying a palanquin Publisher:
Yawata-ya Sakujirô Robinson:
S74.10 |
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Station: Fukaya Number on print: 10 Main scene:
Yuriwaka Daijin shooting
with his huge bow before two dumfounded spectators Insert:
road with rest house and pine trees Publisher:
Kaga-ya Yasubei Robinson:
S74.11 |
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Station: Honjô Number on print: 11 Main scene:
Shirai Gompachi sheathing
his sword with a purse in his mouth in the rain Insert:
roadside village with marsh behind Publisher:
Minato-ya Kohei Robinson:
S74.12 |
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Station: Shimmachi Number on print: 12 Main scene:
encounter of Gokumon Shôhei
and Kurofune Chűyemon on
a bridge Insert:
distant mountain across a lake Publisher:
Ise-ya Kanekichi Robinson:
S74.13 |
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Station: Kuragano Number on print: 13 Main scene:
the bandit Jiraiya with two followers seated by a
fire under a huge pine tree Insert:
hilly road through mountains Publisher:
Sumiyoshi-ya Masagorô Robinson:
S74.14 |
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Station: Takazaki Number on print: 14 Main scene:
Konomura Ôinosuke holding
an unrolled painting of a hawk on a pine branch from which the hawk comes to
life and flies off Insert:
village at the foot of a mountain Publisher:
Yawata-ya Sakujirô Robinson:
S74.15 |
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Station: Itahana Number on print: 15 Main scene:
Onzôshi Ushiwaka Maru discomfiting two tengu
at fencing Insert:
trees and a cloud-shrouded mountain Publisher:
Hayashi-ya Shôgorô Robinson:
S74.16 NOTE: Tengu are forest-dwelling creatures
that are either human-like with wings and long noses or bird-like. |
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This is another state of
the above print. It is a less labor
intensive printing than the above, which almost invariably means a later
edition. In this print, the shading (bokashi) in the rectangular cartouche
in the right upper corner was replaced by solid pink. Bokashi
was achieved by hand-applying a gradation of ink to the wooden printing block
rather than inking the block uniformly.
This hand-application had to be repeated for each sheet of paper that
was printed. There is also a
simplification of the coloring of the tengu. |
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Station: Annaka Number on print: 16 Main scene:
Seigen the monk praying to Fudô,
sees a vision of his beloved Sakura-hime Insert:
moonlit village with distant hills Publisher:
Kaga-ya Yasubei Robinson:
S74.17 |
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Station: Matsuida Number on print: 17 Main scene:
Matsui Minjirô watching two snakes in a river with Yama-uba seated on a rock Insert:
trees, rice paddies and distant mountains Publisher:
Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke Robinson:
S74.18 |
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Station:
Sakamoto Number on print: 18 Main scene:
samurai and child on a road near a
teahouse in Gojôzaka Insert:
man leading a horse along a mountain road Publisher:
Minato-ya Kohei Robinson:
S74.19 |
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Station: Karuizawa Number on print: 19 Main scene:
Kamada Matahachi at the
base of a huge red temple-pillar Insert:
road amid hills with band of mist Publisher:
Takeda-ya Takezô Robinson:
S74.20 |
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Station: Kutsukake Number on print: 20 Main scene:
The Han Dynasty hero Chôryô (Chang Liang) fitting a shoe he retrieved from the river on Kôsekikô Insert:
mountain with band of mist and rooftops in the foreground Publisher:
Ise-ya Kanekichi Robinson:
S74.21 |
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Station: Oiwake Number on print: 21 Main scene:
The deformed O-Iwa squeezing blood from a hank of
her hair watched by her husband Iyeyoshi Insert:
travelers on a road through rice paddies under a full moon Publisher:
Takeda-ya Takezô Robinson:
S74.22 NOTE:
O-Iwa was married to a man named Iemon. A wealthy
lady fell in love with Iemon, and he fell in love
with her money. Iemon
had his servant poison O-Iwa. She became weak, lost her hair and her face
became deformed. She was then treated
cruelly by the people around her, and she died holding a grudge against
them. After her death many strange
things happened, and all of the people who had mistreated her died. |
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Station: Odai Number on print: 22 Main scene:
Teranishi Kanshin, his kimono patterned with skeletons,
standing by a tied up bearer and three barrels of sake Insert: a
road among hills and pine trees at sunset Publisher:
Ise-ya Kanekichi Robinson:
S74.23 |
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Station: Iwamurata Number on print: 23 Main scene:
The strong woman Ôiko damming a river with a
boulder Insert:
rice paddies and distant mountains with a band of mist Publisher:
Kaga-ya Yasubei Robinson:
S74.24 |
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Station: Shionada Number on print: 24 Main scene:
Torii Matasuke wringing out his loincloth and
holding a severed head in his teeth Insert:
evening landscape with mountains, trees and fields Publisher:
Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke Robinson:
S74.25 |
‘Robinson’ refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its unpublished supplement.
