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Station 20: Fuchu

Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), 1854, Wood cut
Station 20: Fuchu
Station 20: Fuchu
Station 20: Fuchu
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Category
Library Item
Item no
16265
Title
Fifty-three stations by two brushes (Sohitsu gojusantsugi). Station 20: Fuchu
Description
This print depicts a stylishly dressed female agricultural labourer. The woman wears a blue, green and white striped apron over her white and blue kimono. The woman's sleeves have been tied back with a red cord and she wears a headscarf to keep her hair free from dust. The woman's large red obi belt is fashionably tied behind her.
Fuchu, present day Shizuoka, is renowned for green tea production and it is probably green tea that the woman carries in the woven basket at her side. A young boy dressed in a red and white kimono follows her carrying two baskets of leaves on a pole across his shoulders.
In the background inset, Hiroshige depicts a view of the Abe River and a mountain range beyond. The blocks used to print this design were particularly fresh and the grain of the wood is clearly visible in this early printed edition. Hiroshige's Hoeido edition focuses on the varied methods used by travellers to cross the Abe River. Mount Shizuhata is also depicted.
Kunisada and Hiroshige's 'Fuchu' print is comparable to a series known as 'Tokaido Pairs' or 'Fifty-three parallels of the Tokaido' (Tokaido gojusantsugi), a collaborative work between Hiroshige, Kunisada and Kuniyoshi that was published in the mid 1840s by Ibasen, Ibakiu and others. The 'Fuchu' print from this series shows two women equipped with woven baskets harvesting leaves from tea bushes.
Artist / maker
Kunisada I (Toyokuni III)
Engraver
Hori Take (Yokogawa Takejiro)
Date
1854
Size
36 x 24.8 cm
Type
Location
Art and Design Library