The image features a traditional ukiyo-e scene set in a Japanese village, showing several figures engaged in daily activities outside a building adorned with large white banners displaying blue symbols, all under a serene blue sky.
Name/Title
Seki (Print #48 in the Fifty-Five Views of the Tokaido Road series)
Entry/Object ID
2014.12.4.48
Description
View outside a resthouse in the early morning, where a daimyo is stopping, the retainers preparing, by the aid of lanterns, to proceed on the journey.
Each station was required to maintain lodging houses for travelers. The inn shown is one for upper class travelers such as Shogunate officials and feudal lords. Retinue are making preparations for a feudal lord to leave from the lodging house.