Station 48: Seki from the series Fifty-three Pairs of the Tokaido Road, 1845-46
Utagawa Hiroshigeexpand_more
Color woodcut on paperexpand_more
Gift of the John C. Weber Collectionexpand_more 2023.66.9
Not on Viewexpand_more
A beautiful woman dressed as a courtesan and accompanied by a young attendant encounters an old monk in this print. The woman dons a pale blue kimono decorated with the King of Hell Enma seated at a desk with a large opened book before him and blue demons stirring cauldrons below. Her garment signals that she is Hell Courtesan (Jigoku Dayū), a 15th-century courtesan who attained enlightenment with the help of the monk Ikkyū. The text in the cartouche at the top left combines two legends associated with Ikkyū: that Ikkyū wrapped his loincloth around a statue of Jizō, a bodhisattva; and that he was respected by the Hell Courtesan.
This print was part of a series titled Fifty-Three Pairs of the Tōkaidō Road, a play on the “53 Stations of the Tōkaidō,” which referred to the highway system that connected Edo and Kyoto. This series was a collaborative venture involving print artists Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861), Hiroshige (1797-1858), and Kunisada (1786-1865). Each print highlights a legend or play that took place at the named station.
Details
- Title
- Station 48: Seki from the series Fifty-three Pairs of the Tokaido Road
- Artist Life
- 1797 - 1858
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2023.66.9
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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