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Utagawa Hiroshige - Series of the 69 Stations of the Kisokaido: Kusatsu (70th print) (Kusatsu)
(Edition done in 1950's by Kyoto Hanga-in under the supervision of Narazaki Muneshige, the most faithful to the first edition)
A fashionable young woman crosses a narrow foot bridge over the Kusatsu-gawa River. In one hand, she carries a small present for her host in a “furoshiki” or cloth bag (1); with the other she rests a rolled parasol over her shoulder. Behind her, three women (2) in light travelling attire make their way down the road towards the station while a child wood-gatherer follows them at the left. A large stone street lamp (3) marks the edge of the station, its tiled roofs (4) already in view. Hiroshige represents the lamp as if it were constructed in wood, printed in brown although in reality, it was built of stone and should have been printed in grey. In the distance can be seen the slopes of Mt.Hiei (5) across the lake.
The numbering problem continued and this station is always numbered 68 (六拾八) (6), when in fact, 69 is the correct number.
(Source: The 69 stations of the Kisokaido, Sebastian Izzard, Brazillier 2008)
Kusatsu print in the Series of the 53 Stations of the Tokaido Road (Version Hoeido).
It depicts a restaurant at the junction of both roads. On the right side, a post signals the Nakasendo Road towards the North. In a palanquin, porters are hurrying a customer towards his destination. The passenger is holding a rope to be more comfortable.
Utagawa Hiroshige - Series of the 53 Stations of the Tokaido "Hoeido" Edition- Kusatsu (53th print)
© Trustees of the British Museum
Kusatsu (left) and Otsu (upper right), sketch by Hiroshige in Guide to Kisokaido (Kisoji Meisho zue) published in 1851 (source Waseda University, Tokyo)
And now ?
And now ?
Between Moriyama and Kusatsu, the road wanders through paddy fields arranged in a square pattern implemented in the 8th century and named the Jori system, an old system for dividing and numbering cultivated land. We follow a path parallel to the lake which lies 3km/2mi to the west. It is in Kusatsu that the Nakasendo and Tokaido Roads joined. It was therefore a very important Station with two honjin, two waki-honjin and 72 inns. In 1843, there were 2,500 inhabitants and it is noted that “men are busy maintaining the roads while women are weaving”. One of the two honjin was originally built in 1635, renovated in 1870 and in 1996 and is now a museum. A soba buckwheat noodle restaurant has replaced one of the waki-honjin. Today Kusatsu is an important city with over 100,000 inhabitants, commuting to Kyoto, Osaka or Nagoya, thanks to direct high-speed rail connections.
The Tokaido Road has been the theme of many print series and Kusatsu has been depicted many times. Both Hokusai and Hiroshige visited the station during their travels. Following the success of his first Tokaido series published by Hoeido in 1832, Hiroshige worked on another ten Tokaido series, such as “Kyoka Tokaido” where each print has a comic poem (Kyoka) (1839), the “Gyosho Tokaido” where the title are written in cursive “gyosho” style (1842), the “Jimbutsu Tokaido” with figures in each print (1852), the “Tate-e Tokaido” with vertical prints (1855) and a series in collaboration with Kunisada “The two brushes Tokaido” (1857). The Kusatsu print from the Kyoka series is the most interesting as it depicts a bustling street with stores and shoppers. Other artists such as Kunisada, Yoshitoshi, Hiroshige II and more recently Sekino Junichiro have also published Tokaido series.
The stone lamp at the entrance of the station as described in Hiroshige's print. The Nakasendo Road goes now through a tunnel
Traditional furoshiki
The post marking the junction of Nakasendo et Tokaido Roads
An old soba noodles shop, at the location of the former waki-honjin
The second waki-honjin
An old inn or hatago
One of the two honjin in Kusatsu (1635)
The entrance of the honjin
The corridor and reception room of the honjin
Ota Sake Brewery
Sake barrels. Often seen in shrines or temples where they are given as offerings
Old houses in Kusatsu
Several prints from Kusatsu in various "53 Stations of the Tokaido" series by Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige - Series of the 53 Stations of the Tokaido "Gyosho" - Kusatsu (1842)
Utagawa Hiroshige - Series of the 53 Stations of the Tokaido "Kyoka" - Kusatsu (1839)
Utagawa Hiroshige - Series of the 53 Stations of the Tokaido vertical "Tate-e" - Kusatsu (1855)
Utagawa Hiroshige - Series of the 53 Stations of the Tokaido "Jimbutsu" - Kusatsu (1852)
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