Japan: Mariko (鞠子宿). Station 20 of 'The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō' (Hōeidō edition), Utagawa Hiroshige (1833-1834)

Mariko: Two travellers having refreshment at a wayside teahouse, from which another traveller has just departed, and a woman with a child on her back waiting on them. Beside the teahouse grows a plum tree, just bursting into blossom against the rosy sky; behind rises a grey hill tinted with brown. Here, travellers enjoy grated yam broth, the local speciality, while appreciating the green leaves and plum flowers of the early spring.

Basho, the most famous haiku poet in Japan, praised the scenery and the broth in one of his haiku poems.

Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川 広重, 1797 – October 12, 1858) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, and one of the last great artists in that tradition. He was also referred to as Andō Hiroshige (安藤 広重) (an irregular combination of family name and art name) and by the art name of Ichiyūsai Hiroshige (一幽斎廣重).

The Tōkaidō (東海道 East Sea Road) was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period, connecting Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto in Japan. Unlike the inland and less heavily travelled Nakasendō, the Tōkaidō travelled along the sea coast of eastern Honshū, hence the route's name.

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Pictures From History

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53 TOKAIDO STATIONS