Comment - The woodblock "Kakegawa Station" (掛川之図) shows a landscape from Kunisada's 'Bijin Tokaido' series. Kakegawa-juku was originally the castle town of Kakegawa Castle. It was famous because Lord of Tosa (Yamauchi Kazutoyo) rebuilt the area and lived there himself. It also served as a post station along the salt road (Tokaido) that ran through Shinano Province between the modern-day cities of Makinohara and Hamamatsu.

In the background, travelers cross a a high trestle-bridge over the Kake River at Kakegawa on a windy day. An old couple is struggling against a strong wind, followed by a boy making a mocking gesture; another boy is watching a circular kite (Maru-tako, 丸凧). Another cirlular kite with a broken line is floating away. In the further background, peasants are planting rice, and in the distance, Mount Akiba rises in the mists.

This scene is nearly completely the same as Hiroshige's "Distant View of Mount Akiba at Kakegawa" from his "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" Series. The most striking difference is the Beauty (Bijin) in the foreground, resting on a big bundle of rice straw.

The title of this woodblock print ("掛川之図") is given in the blueish casette on the upper left, with the series title ("東海道五十三次之内") in the adjacent brownish red casette.


Series - "Tokaido Goju-san Tsugi no Uchi" ("Tokaido Fifty-three Stations"). In the early 1830s, Kunisada helped to promote Hiroshige's first 53 Stations on the Tokaido series which was being issued at the same time. Kunisada borrowed some of the background designs from Hiroshige's famous Tokaido series (see stations #1 to #41 and #44), and added a beauty in the foreground. Thus this series is known as "Bijin Tokaido".

Kunisada issued his own chuban series published by Sanoki. As the Hiroshige set had not fully been issued at that time, Kunisada created completely new compositions for the latter stations and added another print for Kyoto, thus the pages would be divisable by two for ease of publication. Thus Kunisada's 'Bijin series' includes 56 prints and not 55 prints, sa usual for a genuine Tokaido series.

The first edition of this series seems to have been published by Sanoya Kihei and Moriya Jihei together, the prints bear the seal of both publishers and also a red kiwame seal. Later editions have only one publisher seal, either of Sanoya Kihei (this print) or of Moriya Jihei. Click this link for this later edition of Moriya Jihei.


Artist - see Biography


Signature - Kôchôrô Kunisada ga ("香蝶楼  国貞画") central lower right


Publisher - red seal of Sanoya Kihei (佐野屋喜兵衛) / (Kikakudô print studio, 喜鶴堂) with circular censor's seal (kiwame, 改印：極) next to the feet of the bijin


Image Size -  24.4 x 17.8 cm (9 5/8  x  7")


Condition - single panel; nishiki-e (cloured woodblock); Vertical chuban (chuban tate-e);