Seki: Early Departure from the Main Inn

Utagawa Hiroshige

1833–34 · Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Size3:2 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Seki: Early Departure from the Main Inn

Akasaka: Inn with Serving Maids

Arai: Ferryboats

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

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

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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: 24.8 × 36.7 cm
Collection: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (impression JP1877; many other impressions exist)
Movement: Ukiyo-e
Series: Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō

Before dawn, a lord's party gets ready to leave the main inn: curtains printed with a large blue crest hang across the gateway, attendants carry lanterns and boxes, and a servant points the way while others wait on the bench at the left. A signboard at the inn advertises Senjokō, a face powder, and a tall pole rises in the dim yard under a dark sky. The print is number forty-eight in the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, published by Hōeidō (Takenouchi Magohachi) in 1833–34. A honjin was the official inn reserved for daimyo and high officials, and Seki, the forty-seventh station, took its name from an ancient barrier on the road to the Suzuka Pass; 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

Deep night greys with white curtains and bold blue crests, for a hallway, study or home office at 24×16 in black. It pairs with Mishima: Morning Mist for two early starts on the road.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Ukiyo-e painting
Era: 19th century (1833–34)
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. 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 Seki: Early Departure from the Main Inn in the public domain?

Yes. Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) 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 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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 Seki: Early Departure from the Main Inn painted, and in what medium?

Seki: Early Departure from the Main Inn dates from 1833–34 and was made in woodblock print; ink and colour on paper; the original measures 24.8 × 36.7 cm.

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 Seki: Early Departure from the Main Inn we'd choose 24×16. It is a landscape print, wider than it is tall, at the painting's own proportions.

About this design

Seki: Early Departure from the Main Inn (Utagawa Hiroshige) — Seki: Early Departure from the Main Inn, Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō · Utagawa Hiroshige · 1833–34. 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.

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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.

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