1834
ink
paper
From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art
東海道五十三次之内 関 本陣早立|Station Forty-Eight: Seki, Early Departure from the Headquarters Inn, from the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido is a 1834 ink by Utagawa Hiroshige, a Romanticism work, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This print shows a busy riverside scene with people hurrying around. A wooden inn stands on the left, its walls covered in blue-and-white flags with strange symbols. Men in hats sit at a table, eating or talking, while others walk or stand near boats tied to the shore. The water is calm, and the background has a bridge and trees under a cloudy sky. Notice how the artist uses bold colors and simple shapes to show movement—like the flags and the people’s quick steps. The text on the right hints at a journey, but the focus is on the daily life at this stop. Look up Utagawa Hiroshige next to see more of his work.
Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川 広重) or Andō Hiroshige (安藤 広重), born Andō Tokutarō (安藤 徳太郎; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.
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