My research focuses on Shiba Kōkan, a painter and writer active during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Many of the compositions in Utagawa Hiroshige’s “The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō” series bear a striking resemblance to Kōkan’s original paintings.
Since Kōkan traveled the Tōkaidō route twenty years before the publication of Hiroshige’s famous Hōeidō edition, there is no doubt that Hiroshige used Kōkan’s paintings as source material.
Kōkan created his sketches using a camera obscura, resulting in landscapes that closely mirror actual scenery. The image above shows Kōkan’s original painting, while the one below shows Hiroshige’s “ukiyo-e” print; I am truly amazed by Hiroshige’s talent as a graphic designer.
This work builds upon the research of my mentor, Joun Tainaka. Please refer to the link below for further details.
https://cdn.goope.jp/210269/240528142208-66556a004b7b7.pdf
www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4396617402
https://cdn.goope.jp/210269/250404110013-67ef3d2df1666.pdf
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Thank you very much for this post.
I found a summary in Japanese of the differences between Shokan and Hiroshige's rendering of the Tokaido, explained by Tanaka himself (I assume).
https://www.book-navi.com/book/shiba_tainaka.html
The text in the pdf of your post is of course much more detailed.
maybe Horst will include some of the remarks by Tanaka in his remarkable wikipedia page about the Tokaido?
Thank you for your comment.
I am comparing original paintings by Shiba Kōkan with ukiyo-e prints by Hiroshige.
Please take a look at the blog below.
https://mixi.jp/view_diary.pl?id=1991417550&owner_id=18931674
Hi, manuD,
In this instance, I had an extensive discussion with AI this morning (AI is very knowledgeable about book titles, names, potential controversies, and the like; I make use of it for that purpose as well :-) ).
There was evidently a prolonged debate in Japan regarding these Kōkan images; experts consider them to be fakes that appeared out of nowhere in 1937.
Dear Horst,
When Shiba Kōkan’s original paintings were first discovered, a certain faction—unwilling to acknowledge them as the source material for Hiroshige’s "Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō"—leveled baseless accusations, claiming they were merely later forgeries imitating Hiroshige’s work. I believe AI is providing incorrect answers based on those past exchanges.
Kōkan walked the Tōkaidō route between 1812 and 1813—twenty years before the publication of Hiroshige’s series. While Kōkan’s paintings closely reflect the actual scenery, they feature several compositions that could not possibly have been derived from Hiroshige’s work.
For instance, regarding the "Tsuchiyama", the background mountains are invisible in Hiroshige’s print, whereas Kōkan’s painting depicts mountains that closely resemble the actual landscape.
https://mixi.jp/view_diary.pl?id=1991321547&owner_id=18931674
Furthermore, a landslide occurred east of Okazaki Castle the year before Kōkan’s journey; Kōkan depicted this landslide in his work, whereas Hiroshige’s print shows not a landslide, but a standalone black mountain that differs from the actual scenery.
https://mixi.jp/view_diary.pl?id=1990647814&owner_id=18931674
There are numerous other examples demonstrating that Kōkan’s works served as the source material.
It should be noted that the discovery of Kōkan's original painting took place in 1991, not 1937.
I cannot engage deeply in this discussion, as only recognized experts on Shiba Kōkan’s work—those with access to extensively documented pieces—can truly evaluate this. However, as far as can be determined, the academic consensus and established experts have reached a very different conclusion.