print
- Museum number
- 1948,0410,0.49
- Title
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Object: Nihonbashi yukibare 日本橋雪晴 (Clearing Weather after Snow at Nihonbashi)
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Series: Edo meisho mitsu no nagame 江戸名所三つの眺 (Three Views of Famous Places in Edo)
- Description
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Colour woodblock oban print. View of Nihonbashi crossing canal, Edo Castle in distance (right), Mt. Fuji at left.1 of 2 impressions.
- Production date
- 1840s (early)
- Dimensions
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Height: 25.30 centimetres
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Width: 36.80 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
- Clark 2001
From a set of three Edo views on the theme of snow (Nihombashi), moon (Ryogoku) and flowers (Goten-yama) (Sakai Gankd, ed., 'Hiroshige: Edofukei hanga tai-shusei', Tokyo, Shogakkan, 1996, nos 583-7). Nihombashi ('Japan Bridge') was at the very heart of the merchant city of Edo, the point to which all distances were measured. From here one could draw a line westwards that would pass directly through Edo castle to Mt Fuji on the horizon. As these two 'senryu' (short comic poems) put it: 'When you draw/A picture of Nihombashi/Draw Fuji too' (1771, 'Nihombashi/E ni kaku toki wa/Fuji o kaki'), and, 'A famous mountain/A famous castle -/The Fine View from Nihombashi' (1833, 'Meizan to/meijo hareru/Nihombashi') (Kasuya Hiroki, ed., 'Senryu dai-jiten', Tokyo, Tokyodo, 1995, p. 582, s.v. 'Nihombashi'). The fish wholesalers were located close by and fresh catches were delivered by a constant stream of long rowing boats of the type seen in the foreground here. The subdued colour-scheme and many shades of grey give an effect that consciously emulates ink painting.
Literature:
'Ukiyo-e shuka, vol. 11: Daiei Hakubutsukan'. Tokyo, Shogakkan, 1979, no. 181 (commentary by Narazaki Muneshige).
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
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Exhibited:
2001, 11 May-29 Jul, BM Japanese Galleries, '100 Views of Mount Fuji'
- Acquisition date
- 1948
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1948,0410,0.49
