Funabashi

Funabashi sits on the northern shore of Tokyo Bay in Chiba Prefecture, a town whose name (lit. 'boat bridge') refers to its historic role as a river crossing on the [Sakura](/glossary/sakura) Kaidō and as a fishing port supplying Edo. A [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e) of this location likely depicts the working coastline — fishing boats, mudflats at low tide where shellfish were harvested, or the river estuary — rather than the central Tokyo landmarks more commonly chosen by his contemporaries. Hakutei's choice of such a workaday subject reflects the broader interest in everyday regional Japan that distinguished both [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) and [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) from the codified meisho repertoire of Hiroshige's generation. The mokuhanga is printed by hand with baren on washi, with Hakutei's characteristic use of muted, modulated color and [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations on water and sky carrying the influence of his yoga (Western-style) painting training. The composition typically combines planar simplicity with carefully observed local detail.