Fifty-three Post-stations of the Tôkaidô Road

(Tôkaidô go-jû-san tsugi, 東海道五十三次)

Publisher: Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke

1860

In this series, the lower sections are by Kuniyoshi, but the upper sections are signed by Kuniyoshi’s student Hirokage (一勇斎 広景 画). This series is listed as No. 224 in Kuniyoshi by Basil William Robinson (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1961). The prints are about 14 by 10 inches (36 by 25 centimeters), a size known as ôban.

	Post-station: Goyû (御油)
	Post-Station: Mishima (三島)
	Post-station: Kanagawa (神奈川) NOTE: This is a key block print from this series. It is an impression pulled from the first woodblock made by a carver from the artist’s original drawing. The artist would write instructions for each color on a separate key block print, and the woodblock for each color was cut using one of these as a guide. Registration marks (kento) are found in the right lower corner and on the right side. Kento are cut in each woodblock, so that the paper can be properly aligned on each woodblock during printing. In addition to being a guide for carving the color woodblocks, the key block was also used to apply black ink (usually) in the printing process.
No image available	Post-station: Shinagawa (品川) NOTE: This is the only other print, in this series, known to exist.

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