Benkei Bridge

Benkei Bridge (Benkei-bashi) spans the moat running between the Akasaka and Aoyama districts of Tokyo, part of the former outer fortifications of Edo Castle. Hasui's depiction likely presents the bridge and its reflection in the still moat water, framed by seasonal trees—bare branches in winter, cherry blossoms in spring, or dark summer foliage. The moat area retained a quiet, almost rural atmosphere even as Tokyo modernized around it, making it an appealing subject for shin-hanga printmakers seeking picturesque urban landscapes. Hasui frequently used water reflections to double and invert architectural elements within a composition, and the moat's still water would have provided ideal conditions for this strategy. The print likely uses a cool palette of blues and grey-greens with a graded sky suggesting dusk or early evening, the bridge silhouetted against fading light.