Visions of the Tokaido Road - An Illustrated Talk with Nigel Caple

Museum & Art Gallery

This illustrated talk will celebrate and illuminate both the ancient and modern aspects of the Tokaido Road. The Tokaido was one of the most important routes of the Edo period (1603–1868) in Japan. The eastern sea road linked Kyoto and Edo (present-day Tokyo). An overview of some of those artists who have left visual records of the Tokaido Road will also be incorporated. From printmakers to photographers, a range of images will be presented to help the audience visualise the road’s changing geography. Particular focus will be given to Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) and his celebrated woodblock print series The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido and also to Felice Beato’s 19th-century photographs taken along this route. Nigel Caple has explored the Tokaido, gained invaluable insight into this unique route, and created a series of paintings based on drawings from his journey, from locations similar to those once travelled by Hiroshige.