The Jinbutso Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road, Gojūsan tsugi, 五十三次 is one of the most original of Hiroshige's huge production.
It is a hot fantasy full of secret clues.
The complete name of the series in Japanese is Tokaido Goju-san Tsugi Jinbutsu In English it is usually called Figure Tōkaidō or Jinbutsu or Jimbutsu (Figure) Tōkaidō because all the designs show people not just as tiny decorations but as important elements in the foreground of the design, like as if Hiroshige had already invented the zoom lens. Hiroshige's designs would have a huge impact on the later landscape and portrait photography.
The "people" are mostly beautiful women and the audience for this series is men dreaming of women they could in theory meet when travelling in the "floating world", ukiyo-e, of the Tōkaidō road seeking adventure and pleasure.
