The Scenic Places of the Tōkaidō - Processional Tōkaidō : Hardcover

The Scenic Places of the Tkaid (Tkaid Meisho no Uchi) by 17 artists is based on the list of prints on the Kunisada Project website run by Dr Horst Graebner with a total of 162 ukiyo-e prints. It is a fantastic work, an effort presumably directed by the shogun's political office to commemorate his attempt to preserve a joint rulership with the emperor over Japan. It differs from the many other Tkaid series by the large number of prints, at least three times as many in a series. If differs by the number of people in the prints - the procession consisted of 3,000 people. It also marks the end of the ukiyo-e Tkaid, where the forced travel of the damiy - sankin-ktai - had contributed so much to the economic and cultural development along these roads and indeed to the whole print making industry. The shogun abolished sankin-ktai in 1862.  "Tokaido Meisho no Uchi" (The Scenic Places of Tkaid) also known as the "Processional Tkaid" is a monumental work. This large series by different artists and publishers was made for the commemoration of shogun Tokugawa Iemochi's historic travel in 1863 from Edo to Kyoto to pay respect to the emperor. The ukiyo-e series 'Tokaido meisho-no-uchi' from 1863 is often called a teamwork of different publishers and artists. It would likely be more precise to call it a coordinated project by the shogun's political staff that was rebuffed by political competitors. In 1863 the Tokugawa shogunate was in a state of final weakness and dissolution. It was a somewhat desperate attempt to ensure a joint rule by the emperor and the shogun, or their respective staffs. The procession and the print series were like a last glittering of a glorious past. It is a tombstone that marks the end of 250 years of peaceful rule by the hereditary Tokugawa military government. The series Tkaid Meisho No Uchi - The Scenic Places of the Tkaid is one of the largest published during the Edo period. Nevertheless, it is somewhat mysterious. Neither the precise number of prints nor the contributing artists seem to be completely clear. An article was written as a background information at the occasion of artelino auction no. 182, which offered for sale the first part of a nearly complete set of this series. Altogether 133 different sheets had been consigned to the dealer.