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

Size2:3 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 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

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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 exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. 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 16×24 in black. It pairs with Mishima: Morning Mist for two early starts on the road.

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: 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 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 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 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 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, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Seki: Early Departure from the Main Inn we'd choose 16×24.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Hiroshige's Seki: Early Departure from the Main Inn — a daimyo's retainers preparing to leave the main inn before dawn under curtains bearing his crest — the whole woodblock print shown uncropped beneath gallery typography. Print 48 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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