Hokusai's 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō 1804 horizontal is something completely different from his first square edition 1801 and second edition 1802.
Hokusai completely changes his style compared to the three previous series, 1801, 1802 and 1804 vertical.
These designs are "clean" and a precursor for his famous 36 Views of Mt Fuji some 30 years later.
In this series Hokusai focus on wonderful folkloric scenes of ordinary people going about their work, in addition to the travel scenes.
Hokusai further develop the themes, touristic curiosities and landscapes that were to become a standard for later generations of Tōkaidō series.
It was a great and beloved contribution to the Tōkaidō literature, which Hokusai dominated for some 30 years and this series is also much loved in the West.
