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Japan: Miya (宮). Station 41 of 'The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō' (Hōeidō edition), Utagawa Hiroshige (1833-1834)

Japan: Miya (宮). Station 41 of 'The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō' (Hōeidō edition), Utagawa Hiroshige (1833-1834)

Miya: Two gangs of men and a horse dragging a festival car (not shown) past the entrance to Miya Temple on a fête day.

The name Miya literally means 'shrine', and is a shortened word denoting the Atsuta Shrine. It is one of the most important shrines in the country because it holds one of the three divine symbols of the Japanese imperial throne. Now Nagoya City has grown around the shrine to become the third largest metropolis in Japan.

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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