Tokaido (2009)

Tokaido is a film series about a road in Japan, or rather two roads: an old one-- once Japan's most important road-- and a new one, paved on top of it. Naturally the series is not merely about these roads; it is about what happened or happens along them, intertwining two road trips: a past one and a contemporary one. The first puts us in the company of Hiroshige, one of Japan's greatest artists, who traveled the Tokaido in the early 1830s. In the second we follow in his footsteps to figure out what remains of what he saw. It is a simple concept, but it goes far beyond simply comparing past and present. Because understanding Japan requires a trip into its past, and one could do far worse than pick the Tokaido for that excursion. With Hiroshige we also obtain a terrific guide. He not only made the trip at a fascinating time, he also left a splendid artistic impression of his trip, documenting what he saw and experienced along the way.