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Station 40: Chiryu

Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), 1855, Wood cut
Station 40: Chiryu
Station 40: Chiryu
Station 40: Chiryu
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Category
Library Item
Item no
16287
Title
Fifty-three stations by two brushes (Sohitsu gojusantsugi). Station 40: Chiryu
Description
The figures in this print are Ariwara no Narihira and his young attendant. Narihira was a 9th century aristocratic poet whose passionate exploits provided the model for the romantic hero in the literary classic, 'The Tales of Ise' (Ise monogatari). Narihira is shown wearing a court hat (eboshi) and a lilac kimono with a flowing blue river design patterned with dark purple, white and blue roundels. From one wide sleeve a white folding fan is visible. The young attendant that crouches at Narihira's side wears a green sleeveless tunic over a red kimono. The box in the attendant's hands refers to Narihira's talent for writing poetry and may contain poetry slips.
In the background inset, Hiroshige depicts a path that zig-zags through the fields. In Hiroshige's Hoeido Tokaido print, the viewer is presented with an image of fields of horses.
Chiryu was the famous site (meisho) of the Eight Bridges or 'Yatsuhashi' that were given poetic treatment in 'The Tales of Ise'.
The character of Narihira is made the subject of the 'Chiryu' print edition in the series 'Tokaido Pairs' or 'Fifty-three parallels of the Tokaido' (Tokaido gojusantsugi). 'Tokaido Pairs' was a collaborative work produced by Hiroshige, Kunisada and Kuniyoshi that was published in the mid 1840s by Ibasen, Ibakiu and others. Narihira also appears in the 'Chiryu' edition of Kunisada's series of Tokaido diptychs that were published in 1852 by Iseya and others.
Artist / maker
Kunisada I (Toyokuni III)
Engraver
Hori Take (Yokogawa Takejiro)
Date
1855
Size
36 x 24.8 cm
Type
Location
Art and Design Library
Rights and purchasing
Option
Price
Digital FileElectronic file 72 dpi JPEG
£5.80(inc. VAT 20%)
Digital FileElectronic File 300 dpi TIFF
£29.40(inc. VAT 20%)
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