Rdeča kartuša desno zgoraj razkriva napis Tōkaidō Gojūsan-tsugi – Triinpetdeset postaj Tōkaidō, ki velja za eno najslavnejših grafičnih serij v japonski umetnosti. V njej je Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) – njegov podpis vidimo na lesorezu na levi strani: Hiroshige ga (naslikal Hiroshige) – zajel popotne vtise in postojanke na zgodovinsko pomembni poti Tokaido, ki povezuje Edo (današnji Tokio) s Kjotom, prestolnico cesarstva. Hiroshige je leta 1832 prehodil celotno, skoraj 490 km dolgo pot, zajel vse postaje in najzgodnejšo, v letih 1833–1834 natisnjeno serijo poimenoval Hōeidō Tōkaidō ali Veliki Tokaido. V naslednjih dobrih dveh desetletjih je z različnimi založniki in tiskarji naredil več variant, ki se razlikujejo v številu listov in tudi v formatu. Tako je postal eden najvidnejših in najbolj priljubljenih umetnikov japonskega lesoreza t. i. umetnosti ukiyo-e poznega Edo obdobja.

V manjši rdeči kartuši najdemo podatek o založniku Sanoya Kihei (Kikakudō), ki je v letih 1840–1842 izdal posebno različico serije, t. i. Kyōka Tōkaidō, v kateri je na vsakem listu zgoraj dodana kratka humorna pesem, t. i. kyōka, ki se povezuje z upodobljenim krajem.

Pred nami je pogled na 26. postajo Nissaka, kot je zapisano levo od kartuše. V drzno zajetem pogledu od zgoraj vidimo poštno postojanko na strmem gorskem prelazu. Pogled nas osredišči v figuri nosača, ki bo vsak trenutek dosegel obcestne čajnice; v nasprotni smeri pa se pomika kolona petih dvojic mož, ki nosijo tovor. Hiroshige nas je uspel s figuro na mostu vpeljati v prizor in nas v atmosferskem doživljanju spektakularne narave soočil še z bremeni nosačev.

V Hiroshigejevem času je bil gorski prelaz Sayo no Nakayama pri Nissaki znan kot eden izmed treh najstrmejših in najtežjih predelov na celotni poti Tōkaidō. O zahtevnosti prehoda govori tudi natisnjena pesem, ki v prostem prevodu sporoča: "Za popotnika na poti proti vzhodu (Azumaji) je prehod čez prelaz Sayo-no Nakayama neizogiben del potovanja. Še preden ga sploh prečkaš, že v sanjah doživljaš ta naporni vzpon."

Ta prelaz pa je bil slaven tudi zaradi japonske ljudske legende o "kamnu, ki ponoči joka" (Yonaki-ishi). Zgodba pripoveduje o noseči ženski, ki so jo na tem prelazu napadli in umorili razbojniki. Njena kri je brizgnila na obcestni kamen, v katerega se je ujel njen duh, kamen pa je nato vsako noč glasno jokal in opozarjal mimoidoče na grozodejstvo (v nekaterih različicah je s tem rešil njenega preživelega otroka). Hiroshige je to dramatičnost prelaza v svoji slavni prvi izdaji prikazal tako, da je velik okrogel "kamen, ki joka", postavil kar na sredino poti, okoli njega pa se zbirajo popotniki. Lesorez z različico tega prizora v vertikalnem formatu iz leta 1855 hranijo tudi v Pokrajinskem muzeju v Celju.

Izvirni lesorezni odtisi prvih serij so hranjeni večinoma v ameriških (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Minneapolis Institute of Arts…) in japonskih (Tōkaidō Hiroshige Art Museum, Shizuoka …) muzejih; ohranjenih je tudi zelo veliko primerkov kasnejših odtisov iz druge polovice 19. in začetka 20. stoletja. Naš odtis lahko previdno datiramo v sredino 19. stoletja. Za potrditev morebitnega izvora iz katere prvih serij pa bi bilo potrebno opraviti neposredne primerjave in natančnejše raziskave materialov.

V prid zgodnejšemu datiranju lesoreza govori izjemna uporaba tehnike bokaši (jap. bokashi), s katero je Hiroshige tudi zaslovel. Gre za tehniko, pri kateri se del papirja navlaži pred ročnim nanosom barve, ki zaradi vode steče čez vlažni del. To ustvari učinek barvnega prelivanja. Postopek se ponovi pri vsakem posameznem odtisu, zaradi česar vsak lesorez postane unikaten. Učinke meglic lahko opazujemo v modrem pasu na obzorju in v vijoličastem ob zgornjem robu.

Kuriozitetno posebnost našega lesoreza odkrijemo na njegovi hrbtni strani, na katero je nalepljen tekst iz starega japonskega učbenika za moralno vzgojo, ki govori o ponižnosti in poslušnosti. Lekcija, ki ilustrira vrlino spoštljivosti in skromnosti, pripoveduje zgodbo o znanem japonskem konfucijanskem učenjaku Kaibari Ekken (1613–1740), ki je bil izjemno skromen, in ko je nekoč potoval z nekim samurajem, mu ni z ničemer razkril svoje identitete ter se tako pokazal kot resnični modrec, ki se ne hvali s svojim znanjem in se do vseh obnaša vljudno, brez prevzetnosti. Nalepljeno besedilo dokazuje, da grafika na Japonskem v 19. stoletju ni bila več obravnavana le kot visoka umetnost, temveč tudi kot vsakdanji uporabni predmet, v našem primeru kot šolski pripomoček za učenje konfucijanskih vrlin ponižnosti.

The red cartouche upper right contains the inscription Tōkaidō Gojūsan-tsugi - Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, which is considered one of the most famous graphic series in Japanese art. Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), whose signature can be seen on the woodblock print on the left: Hiroshige ga (painted by Hiroshige), captured travel impressions in it and stops on the historically important Tōkaidō route, which connects Edo (present-day Tokyo) with Kyoto, the capital of the empire. In 1832, Hiroshige walked the entire, almost 490 km long route, including all the stations, and he called the earliest series printed in 1833–1834 Hōeidō Tōkaidō or the Great Tōkaidō. Over the next two decades, he produced several variants with different publishers and printers, which differ in the number of sheets and also in format. Thus, he became one of the most prominent and popular artists of Japanese woodblock printing, the so-calledukiyo-e art of the late Edo period.

The smaller red cartouche contains information about the publisher Sanoya Kihei (Kikakudō), who in 1840–1842 published a special version of the series called Kyōka Tōkaidō, in which a short humorous poem called kyōka is added at the top of each sheet, which is connected to the depicted place.

Here is a view of the 26th Nissaka Station, as is explained to the left of the cartouche. A post office on a steep mountain pass is seen in a boldly captured view from above. Our gaze is focused on the figure of a porter who will reach the roadside teahouses at any moment; in the opposite direction, a column moves showing five pairs of men carrying loads. The figure on the bridge manages to introduce us to the scene and in an atmospheric experience of spectacular nature Hiroshige also confronts us with the burdens of the porters.

In Hiroshige's time, the Sayo no Nakayama mountain pass near Nissaka was known as one of the three steepest and most difficult sections of the entire Tōkaidō route. The difficulty of the pass is also described in the printed poem, which loosely translates as: “For a traveller on the way to the east (Azumaji), overcoming the Sayo-no Nakayama pass is an inevitable part of the journey. Even before you cross it, you experience this arduous climb in your dreams.”

This pass was also famous for the Japanese folk legend of the “stone that cries at night” (Yonaki-ishi). The story tells of a pregnant woman who was attacked and murdered by bandits at this pass. Her blood splashed onto a roadside stone, in which her spirit became trapped, and the stone then cried loudly every night, warning passers-by of the atrocity (in some versions, it saved her surviving child). Hiroshige illustrated this dramatic nature of the pass in his famous first edition by placing a large, round “stone that cries” right in the middle of the road, with travellers gathering around it. A woodblock print with a 1855 version of this scene in vertical format is also kept in the Regional Museum in Celje.

The original woodblock prints of the first series are kept mostly in the museums of America (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Minneapolis Institute of Arts…) and Japan (Tōkaidō Hiroshige Art Museum, Shizuoka…). A considerable number of later prints from the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century are also preserved. The present print can be tentatively dated to the mid-19th century. To ascertain from which of the first series the print originates, direct comparisons and material research would be necessary.

The earlier dating of the woodblock print is supported by the exceptional use of the bokashi technique which made Hiroshige famous. It is a technique in which a section of paper is moistened before the paint is applied by hand and it flows over the wet section due to the water. This creates a colour iridescence effect. The process is repeated separately for each impression, making each woodblock print unique. The effects of mist can be seen on the horizon in the blue band and in the purple along the upper edge.

A special curiosity features on this woodblock print on its back, where a printed text from an old Japanese moral education textbook, talking about humility and obedience, is pasted. The lesson which illustrates the virtues of respect and modesty tells the story of a famous Japanese Confucian scholar (Kaibara Ekken), who was extremely modest. When he once travelled with a samurai, he did not reveal his identity to him, thus serving as an example of a true sage who does not boast about his knowledge and behaves politely towards everyone, without arrogance. The pasted text proves that in the 19th-century, prints were no longer considered only a high art in Japan, but also everyday useful objects, in our case, a school aid for teaching the Confucian virtue of humility.