[The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido road]

School of Utagawa HIROSHIGE, 20th century.

[The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido road. Japan: undated but probably 1921-c.1943]. Oblong quarto (8 ¾ x 11 1/4in; 223 x 285mm). 1 leaf listing contents, 55 woodblock prints (of 56, lacking number 11), printed in colors, western numbering and titling in pencil to lower right corner of each leaf, most with ‘Made In Japan’ blocked in ink to the verso, sometimes very faintly. (Number ‘21’ with lower right blank corner torn away, some other small tears and occasional creasing, occasional light soiling, toning or staining). Unbound, within a 1930s Chinese blue silk portfolio of typical form, facsimile of the contents list mounted on the upper cover, orange and gold-leaf-flecked paper lining to the box.

Although clearly inspired by Hiroshige the artist of the present set has set out to re-imagine the images: they are not copies, although they do use the same titles and follow the same route (unsurprisingly). The ‘Made in Japan’ stamp was used on exported items between 1921 and about 1943. From 1915 to 1921 the stamp typically read ‘Made in Nippon’, and from 1947 to 1952 ‘Made in Occupied Japan’ was used. During the war the export trade was negligible/non-existent.