Views of the Usui Pass and the Kumagaya Embankment

Catalog note / 解説

This 'uchiwa-e' (rigid fan print) design is by Hiroshige. It is one of three that depict pairs of views along the Kisokaido Highway. This ancient inland route connected eastern Japan with the imperial capital of Kyoto. Another series, datable to the mid-1830s, is entitled the 'Eight Views of the Front and Back Highways' ('Omote Ura Ekiro Hakkei'). It depicts single views along the Tokaido Highway. The two series have very similar titles. Their dates of production are also very close. This suggests that they were designed to complement one another. The simple colouring of the later series balances the rich polychrome of the 1830s series. The Usui Pass of the title is on the border between Gu…