Moon crossing bridge

The title refers to Togetsukyo, the wooden bridge spanning the Katsura River at Arashiyama in western Kyoto—a site whose name ("Moon Crossing") derives from a thirteenth-century imperial observation that the moon appeared to traverse the bridge's arc. Fujita's interpretation likely sets the bridge against a low horizon with the moon as a circular form above, rendered through [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradation to suggest atmospheric depth. The composition reduces the structural elements to horizontal and vertical bands, a strategy consistent with his approach to landscape since adopting the [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) method around 1963. Where Edo-period [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e) of the same site emphasised seasonal cherry or maple foliage, Fujita's treatment isolates the geometry of bridge and water, allowing the wood-grain of the cherry block and the absorbency of the [washi](/glossary/washi) to register as part of the image. The printing typically employs a limited palette of indigos and umbers.