Sanjo Ohashi

Medium:: Woodblock print
Format:: Oban
Source:: Japanese Art Open Database

Typical Price

$300–$2,500. Common subjects: $300–$800. Key value factors: Yoshikawa's costume and maiko prints are valued for their scholarly accuracy and artistic refinement.

Description

Sanjo Ohashi, the Great Bridge at Sanjo in Kyoto, appears in this oban woodblock print as a straightforward topographical study of one of Japan's most historically significant bridges. The bridge spans the Kamo River at the point where Third Avenue (Sanjo-dori) crosses the water, and for centuries it served as the official western terminus of the Tokaido highway connecting Kyoto to Edo. Yoshikawa depicts the bridge and its immediate surroundings with documentary clarity, recording the structure's form and the character of the riverbank environment. The Sanjo Bridge area was, and remains, a major gathering point and commercial center in Kyoto, and the print captures the intersection of infrastructure, commerce, and daily life that defines the location. This view complements Yoshikawa's mist-shrouded versions of the same subject.