Morning at Nijubashi Bridge

Nijubashi Bridge, crossing the inner moat of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, is depicted in the clear, low-angled light of morning in this print. The stone arches and the iron bridge set behind them — together comprising the 'double bridge' the site is named for — rise against a sky that transitions from deeper tones near the horizon to open pale above, a characteristic bokashi gradation. The moat surface reflects the bridge structure and the silhouetted cedar and pine of the palace grounds, giving the lower half of the composition its weight and visual interest. Hasui produced multiple designs featuring this landmark, and several survive in distinct states with variations in color, margin, and publisher seal indicating different print runs. The oban-format sheet, printed on handmade washi, would have been produced using multiple woodblocks, with a separate block for each color zone and careful registration to maintain the precision of the architectural lines. This impression is the second recorded variant of the Nijubashi Bridge morning subject.