Road to Nikko (Nikko Kaido Line) - 日光街道
by Kawase Hasui
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Ohmi Gallery
- Image courtesy of
- Ohmi Gallery
Description
The primary treatment of the Nikko Kaido subject in Hasui's output, this oban-format print depicts the famous cryptomeria-lined avenue that stretches for approximately thirty-seven kilometers from Utsunomiya to the Toshogu shrine precinct. The avenue, designated a National Special Historic Site, provided Hasui with a subject combining architectural grandeur with natural monumentality. The composition likely places the viewer at road level looking toward Nikko, with the cedar trunks forming flanking verticals that compress the sky to a narrow strip at the top of the composition. The Japanese title Nikko Kaido-sen specifies the cedar road rather than the shrine precinct itself, indicating a focus on the approach rather than the destination. Hasui's publisher Watanabe issued this design to considerable commercial success.
More Prints by Kawase Hasui
More Transportation Prints
Old Tree and Path of the Sun, Shôwa period, dated 1961
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Kyoto: The Palace Wall and the Jômeimon Gate (Kyô, Tsukiji Jômeimon), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi
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Nanko, from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi
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Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Road to Nikko (Nikko Kaido Line) - 日光街道 was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水).
Road to Nikko (Nikko Kaido Line) - 日光街道 depicts transportation and travel scenes.