Futakawa c. 1840 - 1842

Utagawa Hiroshige's woodblock print, Futakawa, captures a scene along the Tōkaidō road, a vital route connecting Edo, now Tokyo, with Kyoto, sometime before 1858. In this landscape, we find travelers caught in a downpour, their figures bent against the weather, highlighting the vulnerability and resilience of those who traversed this road. Hiroshige, working in a society with rigid class structures, often depicted the lives of common people, from merchants to peasants, framing them within the larger context of nature's forces. Notice how the artist masterfully uses rain not just as a weather condition, but as a visual metaphor, blurring the social distinctions between those hurrying for shelter and those selling wares. The rhythmic lines of the rain create a sense of shared experience, a common bond formed through hardship. While the scene appears serene, it reflects a period of social and economic change in Japan. As you consider this print, let yourself reflect on the ways we are all connected through our shared human experience of nature's power.