Tokaido Texts and Tales

Throughout the Edo period (1615-1868), the T?kaid? was the most vital road in a network of highways across Japan. Connecting Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and Kyoto, the road and its 53 rest stations become a popular theme for sets of woodblock prints.

The T?kaid? goj?san tsui (Fifty-Three Pairings along the T?kaid? Road) created in 1845, is one of the most fascinating of these series. Japan's three leading print designers of the nineteenth century - Kuniyoshi, Hiroshige, and Kunisada - paired easch T?kaid? rest station with an intriguing, cryptic design. Crafted to outwit the artistic restrictions imposed by the Temp?-era reforms, which outlawed prints of celebrity actors, courtesans, and entertainers, these woodcuts became popular visual puzzles that were frequently reprinted. This series was the first to involve more than one artist and used a variety of motifs, including stoies from the kabuki theater, poetry, famous tales, legends, landmarks, and local specialties.

Presents the complete set of T?kaid? goj?san tsui in vivid color, along with text from the woodcuts transcribed and translated from the Japanese, this book is an invaluable resource for collectors, art historians, and students of this classic technique. Supplementary essays and detailed analyses of the prints help readers share the delight contemporary viewers experienced when these T?kaid? woodcuts first appeared on the market.