CHAPTER VI
THE KISOKAIDO ROAD
The great system of roads organized or reorganized by Iyeyasu as an integral part of his policy of central control of the daimyo, included not only the Tokaido which has already been described, but four others of the first rank. The Nakasendo, or Road of the Mountains of the Centre, which is also called (and better known to us by the name of) the Kisokaido, runs from Yedo to Kyoto, but by a longer and entirely inland route of 542 kilometres. This road is said to have been made in A.D. 702. Its direction is north-west from Yedo to Matsuida, then west and south-west across the mountains to Lake Suwa, and southwest again, by way of Sekigahara, the scene of Iyeyasu's great victory in 1600 which finally consolidated his power. The road then approaches Lake Biwa, and dips down to Otsu where it joins the Tokaido just outside Kyoto. The Kisokaido has 69 stations and the series of prints illustrating it, dealt with in this chapter, consists therefore of 70, including the universal starting-point - the Nihonbashi of Yedo. Only some were done by Hiroshige - the rest by Keisai Yeisen.
The other main roads are the Nikkokaido, of 146 kilometres, running nearly due north from Yedo to Nikko by way of Omiya and Utsunomiya; the Koshukaido from Yedo to Kofu by way of Hachioji (139 kilometres) and thence through Kanazawa to Shimo-Suwa where it joins the Kisokaido. The last of the group is the Oshukaido from Yedo, due north to Asomori through Shirakawa, Sendai and Morioka (786 kilometres). There are, of course, numerous other roads of secondary importance - waki-kaido - or side-roads, which need not be considered for our present purpose. Indeed, so far as concerns Hiroshige, interest arises almost entirely in connexion with two only of the above - the Kisokaido, which supplied him with material for some of his finest compositions, in the series shared by him with Keisai Yeisen, and the Koshukaido, of which the diary of his journey has fortunately been preserved in Mr. Kojima's transcript - though the original perished in the great fire. Of this we give a translation in Chapter VIII.
The series under consideration, to which collectors have agreed to refer
as that of the Kisokaido (from the Kiso river which it follows for part
of its course), consists, as previously stated, of 70 prints - one for
each of the 69 stations and one for the starting-point. I have not, so
far, been able to ascertain that any other series of popular views of
this road exists. Kaempfer is evidently referring to it when, speaking
of Otsu, near Kyoto - where the Kisokaido breaks away from the Tokaido
- he says of the countryside, Behind these mountains [those on the
shore of Lake Biwa] there are two very narrow and troublesome roads over
other mountains, over which some of the Western Princes pass in their
Journies to court.
The difficulties of traversing the great mountain
range would alone account for the fact that the Kiso road never had the
importance of its southern rival; and it will be observed that the daimyo
procession, which occasionally appears to some extent in views of the
latter, is rarely seen in the series now under consideration. Neither
does the Kisokaido appear in other forms of art, as does the Tokaido.
It could not have carried anything like the traffic, either in volume
or in quality, of the latter; and there are some indications that views
of it never achieved the commercial success of the better known series.
It is worth while to analyse briefly, the distribution of subjects between
the two artists engaged thereon. Yeisen is responsible for the first eleven
subjects, and for six of the next twelve. He only did six more - twenty-three
in all, the latest being No.55, Kodo,
leaving forty-seven
to Hiroshige. There is evidence that the series was begun in 1835, for
one of the umbrellas in No.1, Nihon-bashi,
is inscribed Year
of the Sheep
; and in the opinion of the editors of the Memorial
Catalogue, with which I agree, the prints concluding the series should
probably be dated much later. This authority places them from Kashiwabara
downwards
(Nos. 61-70) at the end of the Tempo period (A.D. 1843).
Moreover, there was an early change of publisher. The first prints were
produced by the Takenouchi Hoyeido (or Reiganjima Hoyeido). With Hiroshige's
earliest contribution, however, he is joined by Kinjudo (also called Ikenaka
Iseri, Ikenaka being a contraction of his address, Ikenohata-Nakacho),
and most of the remaining prints were published by this man. After the
completion of the series Kinjudo acquired all Hoyeido's blocks and published
an edition with his own style and title on No.1 - omitting in every case
Yeisen's signature from the prints designed by him. Yeisen died in 1848;
but it is not clear whether the second (Kinjudo) edition appeared before
or after his death - the presumption is in favour of the latter. The editors
of the Memorial Catalogue advance the curious theory that it may
be supposed that the publishers omitted the name and seal of the artist
(Yeisen) for fear that the original prints would not be acceptable to
the public, with whom the newest edition was most popular in those days.
Without disputing the statement, one may venture a doubt as to whether
even a Japanese artisan public did not understand the difference between
a new publication and a reprint of an old one. It has been said that Yeisen's
name was omitted because he quarrelled with the publisher. Nothing is
more likely than that this eccentric genius should have had an experience
which is not altogether unprecedented even in Western literary and artistic
circles. The fact that he no longer owned the copyright would not preclude
grounds for trouble. He might have objected, not unreasonably, to excessive
printing, to paper, to colour-scheme - in the interests of his own reputation.
However, our authority does not consider it likely that the artist's
name and seal would have been struck out by the publisher while the artist
was still alive.
(1) That view is reasonable and
must carry weight. But is there not another possibility?
I suggest that the name and seal of Yeisen were indeed omitted by the
publisher of the later editions of his prints because it was thought that
the original prints would not be acceptable to the public
- and, so far, I can agree with the theory of the editors of the Memorial
Catalogue. But I also suggest, as a theory not incompatible with human
nature as it sometimes appears in business transactions, that the omission
of Yeisen's name was conceived in order to put forward at least an implication
that the whole work was by Hiroshige. The latter had made his great success
with the first Tokaido series, published by Hoyeido and (at the beginning)
by Senkakudo. Hoyeido was also the first publisher of the Kisokaido series.
The trade-mark of this firm appears on the whole of the first eleven prints
- which, we remember, are by Yeisen - as well as on No. 13. In Nos.15
and 18, we have prints by Yeisen, published by Kinjudo (who had joined
Hoyeido at an early stage), and, in the opinion of Mr. Happer, with titles
in Hiroshige's script. All the remaining prints by Yeisen were published
by Hoyeido or by that firm in conjunction with Kinjudo. No.14 is the only
print by Hiroshige with the Hoyeido imprint and it has that also of Kinjudo
in the margin. Surely then, the distribution of the work between the two
artists was closely associated with the change of publisher Hoyeido being,
so to speak, on the side of Yeisen and Kinjudo on that of Hiroshige. On
this indication I base my theory - that the Hoyeido firm thought it would
be a good venture to illustrate the Kisokaido in style uniform with that
of their successful Tokaido; that they also entertained the idea of employing
an artist of Yeisen's established reputation, by way of not having all
their eggs in one basket; that they failed to get anything more out of
that wayward genius than a good beginning and another dozen of subjects
scattered here and there on the programme, and, in two cases, unfinished
as regards the writing of the title; and, finally, that Kinjudo came to
the rescue with Hiroshige to complete an undertaking of which Hoyeido
was weary. A Japanese authority states that Yeisen retired
about the end of Tempo (c. A.D. 1843), and this, if true, may account
for the whole difficulty.
In this connexion we may make a passing reference to one of those casual
and somewhat intangible statements which occur sometimes in the fragmentary
biographies
of Ukiyoye artists, to the effect that Hiroshige
was indebted to Yeisen for instruction especially in regard to colour-schemes.
So far as we are aware there is no direct evidence of any connexion between
the two men before the initiation of the Kisokaido series, but such a
story may well have arisen out of the mere fact that this important work
was begun by the elder artist and handed over to the younger for completion.
There is one further example of collaboration. Probably about the end
of the Tempo period (A.D. 1830-1843) the publisher Yeirakuya issued a
small work in three volumes, Ukiyo Gafu, consisting
of small sketches of landscapes, birds and flowers, figures and fish.
Of this, volumes one and two are by Yeisen while the third is by Hiroshige;
they are printed with two tints in addition to black, in the style of
Hokusai's Mangwa. Yeisen, in dealing with
landscape, was unequal, or, perhaps, perfunctory. At his best, he reaches
a high level. No.20, Kutsukake,
is one of the best of all
the Kisokaido subjects, and as a representation of torrential rain is
not unworthy to stand beside the superb interpretations of this subject
by Hiroshige; while hardly less praise is due to the original and striking
snow-scene, Itabana
(No.15). But with these and, perhaps,
one or two other exceptions, Yeisen's contributions to the Kisokaido set
have not the marked individuality and power of other landscapes by him
- such as, for instance, some of the Views of Yedo (of which he did several
series), his remarkable series of Waterfalls, etc. In view of the story
as to his influence on Hiroshige, it is germane to our subject to point
out that Yeisen was, at least, of some importance as a designer of landscapes.
Hiroshige's early figure work is decidedly in the style of the elder man;
and, while we do not think, for a moment, that the accomplishment of Hiroshige
is, even in part, to be attributed to Yeisen or anyone else, it is more
than likely that the latter, or his prints, assisted the designer of the
great Tokaido series to reach, almost at a bound, the summit of his achievement.
It must be admitted that Hiroshige's contribution to the Kisokaido is
also unequal. The series contains a few of his finest efforts. Two great
moonlight scenes, Mochizuki
(No.26) and the Nagakubo
(No.28) at once demand our admiration. In the latter, and weaker of the
two, he gives us an unequalled rendering of the effect of bright moonlight
on the river mists, but the amusing little group of children in the foreground
insists too urgently on our attention. The low comedy touch, in which
Hiroshige constantly and characteristically delights, is, here, somewhat
out of keeping with the note of true beauty and sentiment evoked by the
artist's treatment of the main subject. But in the Mochizuki
there is no dissonance. The great pine trees stand up in the night, on
the outward edge of the pass, their limbs and roots grasping the bank
with a nervous grip that is almost painful. One, the nearest, is already
decaying, and its battered trunk leans outwards over the moonlit ravine
towards the eternal hills on the far side of the wooded valley. Along
the road, in strong contrast to the guardian pines, toil a few tired wayfarers;
and the story is told. Here is neither comedy nor sentiment. But when
Hiroshige worked out this superb and dignified design I must believe that
he saw, and intended others to see, a vision of the iron grip laid on
the land by the wise old Tokugawa Shogun. He lived in a time when the
seeds of revolution were already well sown and even sprouting. There are
no signs of reverence in his versions of the daimyo processions on this
and especially on the Tokaido road. Iyeyasu's sentinel pine trees were
already straining to hold their grip of the land - even beginning to fall.
Of No.47, Oi,
Mr. Happer remarks that there is no finer
representation of falling snow in any of his other series
; and,
with the reminder that some few may be worthy to rank with it, we may
accept the verdict. But to me, the mere pattern makes an appeal of the
strongest - the contrast and harmony of line and mass. And never has Hiroshige
carried farther, nor used more brilliantly, his great gift of simplification.
There ought to be an example of this print (which is generally found in
a condition at least respectable) in every art school in the kingdom.
As in the Tokaido, Hiroshige gives us one outstanding example of a subject
in thick mist; but, whereas in that series, the Mishima mists are those
of the morning, in the Kisokaido print, No.37, Miyanokoshi,
we have, again, a moonlight scene, but of the early evening. These subjects
tested the powers and the consciences of the printers to the uttermost.
Nothing is more difficult to find than perfect impressions. The values
rest entirely on the gradation of colour, and only the very finest work
in this respect produces anything but a caricature of the artist's intention.
What that was, one can well imagine in either case; but one must confess
never to have seen impressions which quite satisfactorily realize two
of the most poetic visions in Hiroshige's two most important undertakings.
For the rest, one would note, in the best of Hiroshige's Kisokaido prints,
perhaps a greater daring in design - almost reaching violence - not by
any means out of harmony with the spirit of the bleak and somewhat unfrequented
country traversed at times by the road. Examples of this will be found
in No.29, Wada,
with its sharp and eccentric peaks piled up
in snow at the head of the pass; in No.27, Ashida,
with boldly
curving foreground dotted with curious little trees like those in the
Noah's Ark of our boyhood, and the angular outline of the far hills in
sharp contrast; in the fallen tree in No.33, Motoyama,
monopolizing
nearly the whole of the foreground. As compared with the Tokaido, one
notes a change, rather than a development of style. In some respects,
the artist shows higher powers; but if he is, in these instances, more
accomplished, one cannot help, frequently, a suspicion that his outlook
is also more sophisticated. Indeed, one might wonder at times, how many
of the Kisokaido scenes had been actually sketched - even to the extent
of preliminary studies - by Hiroshige. We know that he actually traversed
the Kisokaido road. The Department of Prints and Drawings of the British
Museum contains a sketch book (1546), described in detail elsewhere in
this volume, including no fewer than twenty-four named sketches of, subjects
noted by the artist, at stations in the list, of which nine in the series
were dealt with by Yeisen. The latter point does not necessarily bear
on the question, as Hiroshige sketched everything that took his fancy.
Unfortunately the date of the book is not recorded, but from comparison
of style with another sketch-book (1548) in the same collection, it need
not have been later than 1848 and may have been earlier. The Kisokaido
book begins with nine subjects in order of occurrence (with omissions),
and although they do not follow this rotation in the subsequent pages,
they are so grouped as to suggest things actually seen as he went from
one place to another. And there are interesting notes of local costume
and that sort of thing; one with memoranda of colours which indicate that
he may have had the designing of prints in his mind.
The lesser popularity of the road, as compared with that of its great
rival, would account for the fact that the series was not repeated. A
book of popular poems, Kiso Meisho Dzuye,
published in 1852, has illustrations by Hiroshige of scenes on the road;
and Mr. K. Matsuki informs me that his collection includes some designs
on thin paper for andon-ye (festival lamps)
of Kisokaido subjects. There exists also a kakemono of one of the
stations, Kannonzaka, near Ota (No.52). Mr. Matsuki relates
that several of the illustrations in the book of poems are topographically
correct, from his personal observation, especially those near Lake Suwa
and including the Shiojiri Pass - which are dealt with in the British
Museum sketchbook.
A third sketch-book (1545) contains a sketch of the Yenshu Akihasan
- approach to Akiha Temple - one of the prints in the fine
Honcho
Meisho
series, which is placed by the editors of the Memorial Catalogue
earlier in chronological order than the Kisokaido series. This corresponds
with the actual print more closely than any other of the sketches and
must, almost certainly, be considered as the original of it. This book
has a drawing of the Nunobiki Waterfall and of the Satta Pass, also forming
subjects in the Honcho Meisho. When we find, moreover, that two of the
stations of the Kisokaido Takamiya
(65) and Echikawa
(66) come within a few pages, we may perhaps, with an easy conscience,
connect these most valuable and charming artistic memoranda with the series
of colour-prints.
Mr. Fukuba Toru contributed a kakemono entitled
A Scene on the Kisokaido
to the Japan-British Exhibition of
1910 (No.282) and Mr. H. Shugio had in the Memorial Exhibition nine small
sheets, printed in black on very thin pieces of wood, of a series entitled
Kiso Meisho Dzu
(Famous Scenes of the Kisokaido
).