Hokusai ́s 53 Stations of the Tokaido1801 is something completely different! It is his first. It is different from his famous 36 Views of Mt Fuji, which are sublime artistic expressions distilling a long life ́s work. It is different from much of Hokusai ́s other well known work, like his 100 Views of Mt Fuji. But in that series Hokusai still retained a lot of the humor and the caricature found here. It is different from the many other well known 53 Stations of the Tokaido in that Hokusai does not focus on the landscape and the markers that Hiroshige and others showed. Instead Hokusai focus on the events, the interactions between the travellers, the tales that you will share with your friends when you get back home. It was a great and earlier contribution to the Tokaido literature.

Hokusai ́s 53 Stations of the Tokaido 1805 - 1806 is something completely different! It is different from his famous 36 Views of Mt Fuji, which are sublime artistic expressions distilling a long life ́s work. It is different from much of Hokusai ́s other well known work, like his 100 Views of Mt Fuji. But in that series Hokusai still retained a lot of the humor and the caricature found here. It is different from the many other well known 53 Stations of the Tokaido in that Hokusai does not focus on the landscape and the markers that Hiroshige and others showed. Instead Hokusai focus on the events, the interactions between the travellers, the tales that you will share with your friends when you get back home. It was a great and earlier contribution to the Tokaido literature

Hokusai ́s 53 Stations of the Tokaido 1802 is something completely different from his first square series 1801. Hokusai here employs the horizontal "landscape" format and abt the double size of his square 1801 series. In this series Hokusai focus on wonderful folkloric scenes of ordinary people going about their work, in addition to the travel scenes. Hokusai also begins to develop the landscapes that were to become a standard for later generations of Tokaido series. Hokusai develops the concept of the Tokaido print from cartoon to folklore and the beginning of landscape. He builds on a b/w guide, Tokaido meisho zue from 1797, ISBN 9781956773316. It was a great and early contribution to the growing Tokaido literature, which Hokusai dominated for some 30 years.

Hokusai ́s 53 Stations of the Tokaido 1804 horizontal is something completely different from his first square edition 1801 and second edition 1802. Hokusai completely changes his style compared to the three previous series, 1801, 1802 and 1804 vertical. These designs are "clean" and a precursor for his famous 36 Views of Mt Fuji some 30 years later. In this series Hokusai focus on wonderful folkloric scenes of ordinary people going about their work, in addition to the travel scenes. Hokusai further develop the themes, touristic curiosities and landscapes that were to become a standard for later generations of Tokaido series. It was a great and beloved contribution to the Tokaido literature, which Hokusai dominated for some 30 years and this series is also much loved in the West.

Hokusai ́s 53 Stations of the Tokaido 1804 Vertical is something completely different from his 1801 and 1802 series and from the 1804 horizontal. It is different from his famous 36 Views of Mt Fuji 1832, which are sublime artistic expressions distilling a long life ́s work. This series shows his development of the themes based on the two first series, 1801 and 1802, and a transition to his 1804 horizontal series, which again is a precursor to his sublime 36 Views of Mt Fuji. As the reader progresses through Hokusai ́s Tokaido series it will become evident how Hokusai develops the concept, develops the format, the themes and then mixes them with true genius. This series is different from the many other well known 53 Stations of the Tokaido in that Hokusai does not focus only on the landscape and the markers that Hiroshige and others showed.

The official title for this work is "Pictures from the Famous Places of the Fifty-three Stations". Hiroshige produced these prints in 1855 more than 20 years after his first horizontal Hoeido series published 1833-34, which is included as thumbnails for comparison. It is instructive to see Hiroshiges use of his now mature experience as he develops the vertical format for the narrative. He does designs as he would do a photograph. He set the standard for landscape photography, without a camera. The Tokaido series was the most popular print series ever made in Japan. Hiroshige returned to this theme again and again, with delightful results. It is possible to travel the same road today and some villages are still looking quite like they did back then. The postal stations were constructed between 1601 and 1624.

The reader may already be acquainted with the Hoeidō series (1833-34) of The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō, author’s ISBN 978-1-956215-09-0. This was the most popular print series ever made in Japan. In this Kyōka series (a different publisher, 1838) we follow Hiroshige on the same journey from Edo, modern day Tokyo, to Kyoto, when he travelled the road to participate in an important procession in 1832. There were 53 post stations along this important road, apart from the start and terminus, in all 55 prints, which are all here in the order from Edo to Kyoto. The reader experiences the same journey with a completely different set of prints and can compare to the Hoeidō series. It is possible to travel the same road today and some villages are still looking quite like they did back then. The postal stations were constructed between 1601 and 1624.