Kusatsu: Famous Post House
1833–34 · Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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This print

About this work
- Artist
- Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858)
- Year
- 1833–34
- Medium
- Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper
- Original size
- 24.1 × 35.6 cm
- Collection
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (impression JP523; many other impressions exist)
- Movement
- Ukiyo-e
- Series
- Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō
Palanquin bearers run across the foreground, some carrying an open palanquin with its passenger and others a large closed one with green screens. Behind them a busy rest house serves customers at long tables under a blue roof, a packhorse is unloaded at the left, and the sign advertises ubagamochi, the rice cakes sold there. The print is number fifty-three in the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, published by Hōeidō (Takenouchi Magohachi) in 1833–34. Kusatsu, the fifty-second station, was where the Nakasendō, the inland mountain road from Edo, joined the Tōkaidō for the final stretch to Kyoto; 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
A pale yellow ground and blue roofs with a bright green palanquin, for a den, home office or study at 24×16 in natural wood. It pairs with Fujieda: Changing Porters and Horses for two scenes of the porters who carried the road's traffic.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Ukiyo-e painting
- Era
- 19th century (1833–34)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Palette
- cornflower blue
- Mood
- calm
- Rooms
- 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 Kusatsu: Famous Post House in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Kusatsu: Famous 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.




























