Rokugo, from the series "A Record of a Journey to Enoshima, A Set of Sixteen (Enoshima kiko, jurokugban tsuzuki)"

Rokugo, from Totoya Hokkei's surimono series A Record of a Journey to Enoshima, a Set of Sixteen (Enoshima kiko, jurokuban tsuzuki) of 1833, depicts a crossing point on the route southwest from Edo toward the popular pilgrimage destination of Enoshima. The Rokugo ferry over the Tamagawa was one of the well-known landmarks of the journey, often noted by travelers and depicted in landscape prints by several artists of the period. Hokkei's sheet integrates the location into a sequence of sixteen related compositions, each anchored by a place name and accompanied by kyoka verses contributed by members of the commissioning poetry circle. The disciplined drawing, calm spatial structure, and restrained palette of the image reflect the manner Hokkei developed during and after his training under Katsushika Hokusai within the Hokusai school. As a surimono, the print would have been produced in a limited edition with deluxe techniques including embossing, metallic pigments, and careful gradations, materials chosen to suit the literary ambitions of the patrons and the festive context of New Year or commemorative exchange. Totoya Hokkei specialized in surimono more thoroughly than most of his peers, and the Enoshima kiko set is among the most ambitious of his serial commissions. The Art Institute of Chicago preserves the present impression under accession entry 81771, offering a direct opportunity to study how the Rokugo crossing fit into the larger literary itinerary the series traces and how Hokkei modulated his Hokusai school landscape conventions for the demanding milieu of kyoka clubs.