Artist: Eisen Keisai (1790–1848) Title: View of Lake Suwa from Shiojiri Pass Series title: Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido Publisher: Takenouchi Magohei Date: c.1835-1838 Size: 35.6 x 24.8 cm Condition: Centrefold, stains due to old glue, wear and soiling, holes and tears restored, slightly trimmed. Unique to Eisen's oeuvre and often overlooked for his beauty prints, landscapes comprise of some of the artists most visually striking and original works. In this print, Eisen focuses on capturing the overall temporal mood, with the distant Mount Fuji standing out against the sky captured by the use of bokashi gradation. Kisokaido was one of the five travel routes developed during the Edo period that linked the city of Edo to the rest of Japan. It was an alternate route to the Tokaido and travelled through the central part of Honshu, thus giving rise to its name, which means 'Central Mountain Road'. Lake Suwa's water surface freezes in the winter, with local Shinto tradition saying that the ridges are formed by the gods crossing the lake. Eisen captures this natural phenomenon and shows travellers across the frozen water, bridging the gap between the sacred and the earthly.