A postcard set themed on Ukiyo-e. Secret Treasures: Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Kokan Shiba (Shiba Koun) (1747-1818) A Western-style painter of the mid-to-late Edo period. He studied the Kano and Nanpin schools and painted Ukiyo-e and beautiful women, but it is said that he turned to Western-style painting, stimulated by Gen'nai Hiraga and Naotake Odano. The Tokaido is a road that starts at Nihonbashi and ends at Sanjo Ohashi Bridge in Kyoto, a distance of 125 ri (500 km), with 53 post stations. Tombs were built every 1 ri (4 km) along the road, and pine trees were planted on both sides of the road to provide shade in the summer and shelter travelers from the wind in the winter. In 1690 (Genroku 3), Hishikawa's "Tokaido Bunken Ezu," and in 1802 (Kyowa 2), the humorous book "Tokaidochu Hizakurige" and "Tokaido Meisho Zue" were published and became explosively popular, stimulating the general public's desire to travel. In particular, the Tokaido was bustling with pilgrims to Ise. Against this backdrop, Kokan went to Nagasaki to study in 1783 (Tenmei 3) at the age of 36, and succeeded in the first etching technique in Japan, and also demonstrated his talent in various fields, such as painting oil paintings. Kokan, who traveled east and west, incorporated landscapes into his compositions and left behind a valuable work, "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" (hand-painted), depicting the post towns. The fact that Kokan painted a similar work about 40 years before Hiroshige Ando (1797-1858)'s famous print "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" will undoubtedly cause a major ripple effect in various fields in the future. Although it is impossible to discuss what the similarities between the two works mean, we have produced a limited edition reproduction to commemorate the first public exhibition of this topical work, in response to the requests of Japanese painting fans. - Set Contents: 55 postcards, 1 instruction sheet - Theme: Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido - Art Style: Ukiyo-e - Manufacturer: Izu Kogen Museum