Okitsu: The Okitsu River

Utagawa Hiroshige

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

Size2:3 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

Okitsu: The Okitsu River

Fuchū: The Abe River

Kanaya: The Far Bank of the Ōi River

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 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

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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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 exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. 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 16×24 in black. It pairs with Fuchū: The Abe River for two scenes of travellers carried across the water.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of a Ukiyo-e painting
Era: 19th century (1833–34)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cornflower blue, cream & beige
Mood: calm
Rooms: study or library, home gym, living room, dining room, hallway or entryway
Good gift for: housewarming, travelers, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

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

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 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 exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is Okitsu: The Okitsu River 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 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 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 Okitsu: The Okitsu River painted, and in what medium?

Okitsu: The Okitsu River dates from 1833–34 and was made in woodblock print; ink and colour on paper; the original measures 24.1 × 35.9 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Okitsu: The Okitsu River we'd choose 16×24.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Hiroshige's Okitsu: The Okitsu River — two sumo wrestlers carried across the Okitsu River on horseback and in a palanquin — the whole woodblock print shown uncropped beneath gallery typography. Print 18 of the 55 in Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — 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 Exhibition Posters 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.

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