Iwamurada: Blind Men Brawling

Keisai Eisen

c. 1835–36 · Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper · National Diet Library, Tokyo

Size3:2 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Iwamurada: Blind Men Brawling

Ageo: The Kamo Shrine

Fukaya Station

3 × $59 at 24 × 16 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

Choose different prints →

Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

Secure checkout via Stripe

About this work

Artist: Keisai Eisen (1790–1848)
Year: c. 1835–36
Medium: Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper
Original size: approx. 23 × 35 cm (horizontal ōban)
Collection: National Diet Library, Tokyo (impression pid 1306284, call no. 寄別2-2-1-5; many other impressions exist)
Movement: Ukiyo-e
Series: Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō

A brawl breaks out among blind travellers on a road through green fields. One swings his staff overhead, another stripped to his loincloth grabs a man by the collar, others tumble to the ground among their scattered belongings, and a dog barks at the right. Beyond, flat rice fields and a stream stretch to blue mountains under a pink sky. This is print twenty-three of The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō, published by Hōeidō and later Kinjudō, c. 1835–36. Keisai Eisen, who designed it, began the series and Utagawa Hiroshige completed it. The scene is a comic one. Iwamurada was the twenty-second station on the Nakasendō, the inland road from Edo to Kyoto; the English title is descriptive, and impressions vary in colour and condition.

This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

Fresh green fields and pink sky behind a tangle of figures in blue, green and tan, for a study, home office or den at 24×16 in black. It pairs with Hiroshige's Goyu: Women Stopping Travelers for two comic scenes of roadside commotion.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Ukiyo-e painting
Era: 19th century (c. 1835–36)
Orientation: Landscape
Mood: classic
Rooms: study or library, home office, living room, dining room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 24×16. Prints at 18×12, 24×16 in — 18×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×16 above a console or sideboard.

Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — natural wood flatters the lighter palette; black sharpens it.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Restored in-house from the original painting — cleaned and colour-trued at museum resolution • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 18×12, 24×16 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The image fills the print at the painting's own proportions; nothing is trimmed to fit a frame.

Is Iwamurada: Blind Men Brawling in the public domain?

Yes. Keisai Eisen (1790–1848) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by National Diet Library.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 18×12 and 24×16 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was Iwamurada: Blind Men Brawling painted, and in what medium?

Iwamurada: Blind Men Brawling dates from c. 1835–36 and was made in woodblock print; ink and colour on paper; the original measures approx. 23 × 35 cm (horizontal ōban).

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×16 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 18×12 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Iwamurada: Blind Men Brawling we'd choose 24×16. It is a landscape print, wider than it is tall, at the painting's own proportions.

About this design

Iwamurada: Blind Men Brawling (Keisai Eisen) — Iwamurada: Blind Men Brawling, Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō · Keisai Eisen · c. 1835–36. This is a fine-art reproduction of a public-domain masterwork, shown whole and uncropped on a gallery ground, printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Fine Art Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

Secure checkout. Payments handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card.

Also available as