This series, Fifty-three Pairings of the Tokaido Road, Tōkaidō gojūsan tsui, 東海道五十三対,popularly called Pairs Tōkaidō or 53 Parallels for the Tokaido Road, was published in 1845-1846.
It is a unique cooperation between three artists: Utagawa Hiroshige, Utagawa Kunisada and Utagawa Kuniyoshi and five publishers: Ibaya Kyūbei, (Ibaya Senzaburô (Dansendô)) and Kojimaya Jûbei, Enshûya Matabei, Ebiya Rinnosuke (Kaijudô) and Iseya Ichibei.
The special feature of this "Pairs Tōkaidō" is the pairing of a print for each station with a legend, a wonderful, dramatic, historic or supranatural story. These stories are told partly by the print theme, partly by accompanying text in a cartouche. Sometimes there is a poem. It is a very enjoyable tour!
