Uji Bashi (Uji Bridge) — 宇治橋

Koitsu's print of the Uji Bridge (Ujibashi) depicts one of Japan's three ancient bridges, spanning the swift Uji River in Uji City, a short distance south of Kyoto. The Uji River flows directly from Lake Biwa through a narrow mountain-flanked channel before reaching the broader Yamashiro basin, giving it unusually clear water and a strong, defined current. Koitsu likely frames the bridge's wooden railing and stone pilings in the middle ground, with their reflections broken by the current in the lower register and riverside landscape elements — pines, willows, or the distant pagoda of Byodoin — completing the upper register. The shin-hanga production process, with specialist carvers interpreting Koitsu's watercolor design and skilled printers applying pigment to dampened washi, allowed for the subtle gradations in moving water and atmospheric sky that characterize his mature landscape style. This is the first of two catalogued versions of this subject.