Hanga
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: The Great Fire at Ryogoku from the Hamacho Riverbank by Inoue Yasuji — Japanese Woodblock print

True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: The Great Fire at Ryogoku from the Hamacho Riverbank

by Inoue Yasuji

Medium:
Woodblock print
Format:
Oban
Source:
etm

Description

The Great Fire at Ryogoku viewed from the Hamacho riverbank across the Sumida captures the spectacle of urban disaster that was a recurring feature of Edo and Meiji Tokyo life. From Hamacho on the western bank, spectators would have watched the flames consuming the Ryogoku entertainment district on the opposite shore, the fire's reflection on the river doubling its visual impact. Yasuji depicts this nocturnal catastrophe with the same journalistic directness he brought to his documentation of the city in calmer times, treating disaster as part of the full record of urban experience.

More Prints by Inoue Yasuji

More Urban Scenes Prints

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Frequently Asked Questions

True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: The Great Fire at Ryogoku from the Hamacho Riverbank was created by Inoue Yasuji (井上安治).

True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: The Great Fire at Ryogoku from the Hamacho Riverbank depicts urban scenes, landscapes, and rivers & lakes, set at Tokyo.