Accession No. RARE.2023.0080: Purchased, 2023 November.
[identification of item], Tokaido Gojusan-Tsugi Emaki (53 Stations of the Tokaido Handscrolls, SPEC.RARE.0324, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
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Processed by: Casey Blackmore, 2024 February; Finding aid written by: Casey Blackmore, 2024 February.
The Tokaido road is a three-hundred-mile-long route in Japan that has been depicted in art and literature. The Tokaido connected key parts of Japan, including the Edo, Kyoto and outlining areas. The road was used for trade, communications, and pilgrimages. To support travelers, a series of 53 post stations were developed along the route. The posts allowed travelers to find shelter, meals, and switch out horses. Japanese artist Ando Hiroshige is credited with painting the first depiction of the 53 stations during Japan’s Edo period (1603-1868).
The scenes on the eight scrolls in this collection were painted by Otani Son’yu (1886-1939) and Iguchi Kashu (1880-1930), with scenes alternating between the two artists. Kashu was a painter by trade from Kyoto and Son'yu’s teacher. In 1919, they traveled along the Tokaido to gain inspiration for their sketches to create the handscrolls. Their arrangement for the scrolls begins in Nihonbashi and goes west to Kyoto. Son’yu and Kashu’s depiction of the Tokaido road combined the traditional artwork of Hiroshige with contemporary elements of modern Japan.
The Tokaido Gojusan-Tsugi Emaki (53 Stations of the Tokaido Handscrolls) collection, dated 1922 and published by Nakamura Taikan, contains eight handscrolls created by woodcut coloring using the collotype process. The hand rollers are created from bone with decorated fabric covers. The scrolls are contained in a black varnished covered box with gold designs. The cover of the box is painted with the title, "Tōkaidō gojūsantsugi emaki," in calligraphic script. The scrolls depict the 53 stations found along Japan’s Tokaido route, each with its own specific culture.