Driving Rain at Shōno, from Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaidō

東海道五十三次之内　庄野　白雨

1833

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

(Japanese, 1797–1858)

Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Medium

color woodblock print

Measurements

38 x 25.4 cm (14 15/16 x 10 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. T. Wingate Todd from the Collection of Dr. T. Wingate Todd 1948.306

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Location

235A Japanese

Did You Know?

A large red seal with the publisher’s name, Takenouchi, is stamped on the left side of the print.

Description

Utagawa Hiroshige’s design for this print captures the atmospheric qualities of rain and its effects on two groups of travelers. Three printing blocks were required to produce the three shades of gray used to suggest distance in the thickets of bamboo in the background. The publisher’s name, “Takenouchi,” and part of the series title, Fifty-Three Stations, are written on one person’s umbrella. Hiroshige created many different print series on the Tokaidō, a road that ran from Kyoto to Edo (now Tokyo). Shōno was a minor way station along this largely coastal route.