Nihonbashi (Japan Bridge) / Tokyo junikei (Twelve Views of Tokyo)

This print from the series "Tokyo Junikei" (Twelve Views of Tokyo) depicts Nihonbashi, the Japan Bridge that has served as Tokyo's geographic and symbolic center since the Edo period. The series represents one of Hakutei's most ambitious undertakings, systematically documenting twelve key locations across the capital in a format that echoes the great topographical series of Hiroshige and Hokusai while employing the self-printed sosaku-hanga method. The Nihonbashi entry captures the bridge and its commercial surroundings with a compositional clarity that organizes the dense urban fabric into readable layers. By titling the series with both Japanese and English names, Hakutei signaled his awareness of an international audience for creative Japanese prints, reflecting the cross-cultural ambitions of the early sosaku-hanga movement.