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Japan: Chiryu (地鯉鮒 / 知立). Station 39 of 'The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō' (Hōeidō edition), Utagawa Hiroshige (1833-1834)

Japan: Chiryu (地鯉鮒 / 知立). Station 39 of 'The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō' (Hōeidō edition), Utagawa Hiroshige (1833-1834)

Chiryu: A number of horses tethered near a tree in the fields, where a fair is held in the summer. This area was noted for Japanese iris (kakitsubata).

A famous poet who once passed by this vicinity adorned with irises composed a poem expressing the loneliness of his long journey from Kyoto where his wife remained.

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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