Twenty Views of Tokyo: Hirakawa Gateway

From the 'Twenty Views of Tokyo' series. The Hirakawa-mon is one of the surviving historic gates of Edo Castle, located on the northeastern perimeter of what is now the Imperial Palace grounds. The gate's massive stone walls rise in a stepped formation characteristic of Edo-period castle construction, and its wooden superstructure of the watari-yagura corridor-turret style projects above the moat. Hasui likely framed the view from the moat path, with the gate tower centered or slightly offset against the sky and the still moat water occupying the lower portion of the composition. The stone masonry, rendered in warm ochre and gray, is a subject rarely treated in the ukiyo-e tradition, which tended toward temples and Shinto shrines. The inclusion of this castle gate in the 'Twenty Views' series reflects Hasui's interest in Tokyo's surviving Edo-period infrastructure and the subdued palette appropriate to stone, water, and a typically overcast Tokyo sky. Trees along the stone embankment add organic texture to the otherwise architectural scene.