Author: Utagawa Hiroshige II (二代目歌川 広重).
Subject: The coast of Tsushima (Tsushima kaigan, 対馬海岸).
Series: Sixty eight views of various provinces (shokoku rokujūhakkei, 諸国六十八景).
Number: 68/68.
Genre: meisho-e (名所絵), fūkei-ga (風景画).
Size: medium (chūban, 中判) 24,7cm x 18,5cm (9,72 x 7,28 inches).
Publisher: Tsutaya Kichizō (蔦屋 吉蔵).
Period: c. 1862.
Trimmed: no
Backed: no
Code: UGHII01004

Condition: the general condition is good. It has not been backed, and its borders are not trimmed, so both the print number and the censorship seal are clearly visible. The color has slightly faded, and there are some stains; there are no wrinkles or repairs. Upon careful inspection, two tiny holes can be spotted.

A picturesque view of a Western ship, likely a Dutch carrack, sailing in Tsushima Bay.
Tsushima is a small Japanese island located between the island of Kyūshū (九州) and South Korea; it belongs to Nagasaki Prefecture (長崎).
It was the site where the Japanese army under Hōjō Tokimune (北条 時宗) resisted the Mongols led by Kublai Khan during his invasion attempts in 1274 and again in 1281. Both invasions were thwarted by powerful typhoons that decimated Khan's fleets. This phenomenon is the origin of the Japanese word 'kamikaze' (神風), meaning 'divine wind.'
Before 1854, the Dutch were the only Westerners permitted to enter Japan, exclusively through the artificial island of Dejima (出島) in Nagasaki, where it was not uncommon to see Dutch ships passing by Tsushima.