Okitsu: The Okitsu River
1833–34 · Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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About this work
- Artist
- Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858)
- Year
- 1833–34
- Medium
- Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper
- Original size
- 24.1 × 35.9 cm
- Collection
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (impression JP488; many other impressions exist)
- Movement
- Ukiyo-e
- Series
- Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō
Two large sumo wrestlers cross the shallow Okitsu River, one riding a straining packhorse and the other squeezed into a palanquin carried by porters wading through the water. Behind them a great grey rock topped with pines rises at the left, and beyond the river mouth the sea stretches away under a pink horizon, dotted with white sails. The print is number eighteen in the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, published by Hōeidō (Takenouchi Magohachi) in 1833–34. Okitsu, the seventeenth station, lies on Suruga Bay where the Okitsu River meets the sea, and like many rivers on the route it was forded rather than bridged; 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
River blues, a grey rock and two sumo wrestlers in bold indigo, for a den, home gym or study at 24×16 in black. It pairs with Fuchū: The Abe River for two scenes of travellers carried across the water.
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 gym, 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. 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
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Okitsu: The Okitsu River in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Okitsu: The Okitsu River 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.





























