Niekawa: Changing Horses at the Post House
c. 1835–38 · Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper · National Diet Library, Tokyo
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This print
About this work
- Artist
- Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858)
- Year
- c. 1835–38
- Medium
- Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper
- Original size
- approx. 23 × 35 cm (horizontal ōban)
- Collection
- National Diet Library, Tokyo (impression pid 1306235, call no. 寄別2-2-1-5; many other impressions exist)
- Movement
- Ukiyo-e
- Series
- Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō
In front of the post house, a porter in a loincloth reaches up to unload a horse carrying green-wrapped baggage, and a man sits on a palanquin stand with his knees drawn up. On the raised floor inside, a bald man sits among travellers and a serving woman, lettered signboards hang from the eaves, and a man leans on the balcony rail above. This is print thirty-four of The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō, published by Kinjudō (Iseya Rihei), c. 1835–38. Keisai Eisen began the series and Utagawa Hiroshige, who designed this sheet, completed it. Niekawa was the thirty-third station on the Nakasendō, the inland road from Edo to Kyoto; the English title is descriptive, and impressions vary in colour and condition.
This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Pale grey timber, soft green ground and touches of indigo and red, for a hallway, study or home office at 24×16 in black. It pairs with Hiroshige's Fujieda: Changing Porters and Horses for two post-house scenes from the two highways.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Ukiyo-e painting
- Era
- 19th century (c. 1835–38)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Palette
- cornflower blue
- Mood
- calm
- Rooms
- hallway or entryway, study or library, home office, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, travelers, 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. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or natural wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Niekawa: Changing Horses at the Post House in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Niekawa: Changing Horses at the Post House painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
