Station #37: This print probably shows the procession in which the artist Hiroshige traveled to Kyoto in August 1832. It was customary to exchange gifts on the first of August every year in celebration of the harvest. The Shogun in Edo each year sent a gift of white horses to the Emperor in Kyoto. Many different classes of people traveled the Tokaido. The courtesies shown any particular procession depended on the importance of the members, or on the importance of their mission. The procession in this print would not have been extremely large or overly colorful, but would have commanded respect because its members represented the shogun. Commoners, such as these in the print, would naturally bow low until such important personages passed.

Image Copyright: Minneapolis Institute of Art