Artwork
東海道五十三次之内 石薬師 石薬師寺|Ishiyakushi, Ishiyakushi Ji
東海道五十三次之内 石薬師 石薬師寺|Ishiyakushi, Ishiyakushi Ji is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Utagawa Hiroshige. It dates from 1834 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Utagawa Hiroshige’s woodblock print titled *Ishiyakushi, Ishiyakushi Ji* belongs to his celebrated series *The Fifty‑three Stations of the Tōkaidō*, produced circa 1834. The image captures a segment of the historic Tōkaidō road, the main artery linking Edo (modern Tokyo) with Kyoto during the Edo period, and records the landscape surrounding the Ishiyakushi Temple.
Subject & Meaning
The scene presents a tranquil riverside village where residents work flooded fields beneath a gentle sky. Thatched‑roofed houses line the water’s edge, while a distant mountain rises behind a stand of tall trees. The inclusion of the temple’s name in the upper margin identifies the location as a recognized post station, emphasizing everyday life along a major travel route.
Technique & Style
Executed in the traditional ukiyo‑e woodblock method, the print employs a horizontal composition that stretches the vista, allowing a layered sense of space. Hiroshige’s palette of bold, flat colors and simplified forms creates atmospheric depth, a hallmark of his landscape approach that moves away from the earlier focus on urban entertainment scenes.
History & Provenance
Created around 1834, the print was part of a larger publishing project that documented each of the fifty‑three waypoints on the Tōkaidō. It was originally issued by a commercial publisher for a broad audience of travelers and art collectors. Copies have since entered museum collections worldwide, reflecting the work’s continued relevance to studies of Edo‑period travel and visual culture.
Artist & collection
Artist
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.
