Who painted The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido: Takamiya, and when?

The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido: Takamiya is by Utagawa Hiroshige, made in c. 1835-38 (Tenpo 6-9). Medium: Woodblock print (ukiyo-e).

What place does The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido: Takamiya show?

It shows Takamiya-juku (Shiga).

Where can I see The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido: Takamiya?

It is held by Tokyo National Museum, National Diet Library. Exhibitions change, so check each museum's information before you visit.

The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido ・ 65

Takamiya

木曽海道六拾九次之内高宮

On a road on the outskirts of Takamiya-juku, women carrying huge loads walk along a road looking through the pines to fields and houses. Blue mountains line the distance, conveying the brightness and expansiveness of the wide Omi plain.

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige
Date: c. 1835-38 (Tenpo 6-9)
Medium / format: Woodblock print (ukiyo-e)
Series: The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido 71 prints
Place depicted: Takamiya-juku（Shiga）

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About this work

Two women carrying huge loads as tall as themselves walk along the road in the foreground. Behind them follows a traveler with a staff, and at left by the water stands a person in a straw hat. In the middle ground, fields and a river spread out, with several wooden frames lined up. Beyond them lie houses, and in the distance blue mountains continue.

Pine trunks stand at the left and right edges, their branches reaching out above to frame the picture. The whitish ground, pale green fields, and indigo mountains and sky overlap gently, while the indigo of the figures' clothing and the yellow of their loads catch the eye in the foreground.

Takamiya-juku was a post town in Inukami District, Omi Province, and the entrance to the pilgrimage road to Taga Taisha. Its famous hemp cloth, Takamiya fabric, was carried to many places by Omi merchants and was even presented by the Hikone domain to the shogun's house. The women's loads may be connected with this cloth.

This is a design by Hiroshige. It shows not the townscape of the post town but a country road outside it and the people working there. The Art Institute of Chicago, the Tokyo National Museum, and the National Diet Library hold the same design.

The place today

Takamiya-juku corresponds to today's Takamiya-cho in Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture, and the first torii of Taga Taisha still serves as a landmark of the post town. The front gate of the honjin remains, and along the highway are also the site of Nunosou, which dealt in Takamiya cloth, and the Kamiko-zuka associated with Basho, who stayed here in 1684.

Where can I see it?

Exhibitions change over time. Check each museum's exhibition information before you visit.

Museums that hold this work

Tokyo National Museum
Taito City, Tokyo　Accession no. A-12499-133
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National Diet Library
Chiyoda City, Tokyo　Accession no. 寄別2-2-1-5
Included in Kisokaido Rokujukyu-tsugi
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Museums abroad

Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago　Accession no. 1939.2217
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Frequently asked questions

Who painted The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido: Takamiya, and when?: The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido: Takamiya is by Utagawa Hiroshige, made in c. 1835-38 (Tenpo 6-9). Medium: Woodblock print (ukiyo-e).
What place does The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido: Takamiya show?: It shows Takamiya-juku (Shiga).
Where can I see The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido: Takamiya?: It is held by Tokyo National Museum, National Diet Library. Exhibitions change, so check each museum's information before you visit.