Nihon-bashi Bridge
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
Description
This woodblock print shows the Nihon-bashi Bridge, the stone-arched span that served as the symbolic center of Tokyo and the point from which all distances in Japan were historically measured. By the time Hakutei depicted it, the original wooden bridge had been replaced by a Western-style stone structure in 1911, and the surrounding area was Tokyo's busiest commercial district. The print captures the bridge as both an engineering object and a cultural landmark, its solid form anchoring the composition while the activity of the surrounding streets provides context. Hakutei's treatment of this subject invites comparison with the countless ukiyo-e depictions of the same bridge by artists from Hiroshige to Kuniyoshi, but his modern perspective and self-printed technique set the image firmly in the twentieth century.
More Prints by Ishii Hakutei
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nihon-bashi Bridge was created by Ishii Hakutei (石井柏亭).
Nihon-bashi Bridge depicts landscapes and bridges.