HIROSHIGE UTAGAWA I, View of Mount Akiba, View of Akiba Mountain, Kakegawa, Akiba-san enbô.

Nishiki-e, mokumezuri-e . Color woodblock print, signed on the plate: Hiroshige ga

Series: The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road (Tōkaidō Gojūsan Tsugi no Uchi) also known as the First Tōkaidō or Great Tōkaidō, Station No. 27.

Date: circa 1833-34

Format: Horizontal ôban

Censor: kiwame

Publisher: Takenouchi Magohachi (Hoeido)

Bibliography: Ukiyo-e shûka 14 (1981), Hiroshige list, p. 245, horizontal ôban #55.27

Museum of Fine Art Boston: https://collections.mfa.org/objects/472811

Art Institute Chicago: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/25663/kakegawa-distant-view-of-mount-akiba-kakegawa-akibasan-enbo-from-the-series-fifty-three-stations-of-the-tokaido-tokaido-gojusan-tsugi-no-uchi-also-known-as-the-hoeido-tokaido

National Gallery of Art: https://www.nga.gov/artworks/224457-distant-view-mount-akiha-kakegawa

A splendid work with excellent colors. Printed on Japanese paper, datable to the mid-19th century. In perfect condition. With a good margin all around.

From left, artist's signature and seal, series title, and censor's seal Kiwame.

The kite is that living detail that animates the scene: a light tako , held by a long string, which rises so high that it comes out over the edge.