Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

Kusatsu: Famous Post House (草津名物立場 Kusatsu meibutsu tateba)

Maker

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797-1858, b. in Edo, Japan)
Takenouchi Magohachi 竹内孫八 (1833-1850
Edo, Japan), publisher

Title

Kusatsu: Famous Post House (草津名物立場 Kusatsu meibutsu tateba)
from the series The fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō (東海道五十三次之内 Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi no uchi)

Period

Edo Period

Year

ca. 1833

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink and color

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan

Dimensions

Horizontal ōban: 24.1 x 36.7 cm (9 1/2 x 14 7/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signature: 広重画

Seals: Publisher's seal | Takemago; censor's seal | kiwame

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

41.080.53

Type

Exhibition History

The Road Less Traveled
Edo's Nakasendō
Nov 09, 2024 – May 04, 2025

Label copy

The busy hub of Kusatsu was the next to last station on the Nakasendō as well as a stop on the Tōkaidō highway. Hiroshige depicts travelers stopping to rest and eat at the Yōrō-tei teahouse. Patrons might enjoy the uba mochi advertised on the storefront—a treat made from locally grown rice and sweet red-bean paste. Porters bustle in the foreground, carrying cargo and passengers.

Tokaido
The Lure of the Open Road in Nineteenth-Century Japan
Jun 23, 2000 – Sep 10, 2000
Hiroshige's "Fifty-Three Stages of the Tokaido"
A Journey through Japanese Woodblock Prints, Part I
May 23, 1997 – Aug 24, 1997

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797-1858, b. in Edo, Japan)
Takenouchi Magohachi 竹内孫八 (1833-1850
Edo, Japan), publisher
Tsuruya Kiemon 鶴屋喜右衛門 (1620 - 1852, Edo, Japan), publisher
Kusatsu: Famous Post House (草津名物立場 Kusatsu meibutsu tateba); from the series The fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō (東海道五十三次之内 Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi no uchi), ca. 1833
Polychrome woodblock print (nishiki-e)
Horizontal ōban: 24.1 x 36.7 cm (9 1/2 x 14 7/16 inches)
Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 41.080.53

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