The Great Bridge at Matsue
by Oda Kazuma
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
- Image courtesy of
- Japanese Art Open Database
Description
Kazuma Oda (1882–1956) was a shin-hanga printmaker based in the San'in region of western Japan who made a sustained study of the historic city of Matsue in Shimane Prefecture. Matsue's Ôhashi Bridge, spanning the Ôhashi River between Lake Shinji and the Nakaumi lagoon, was one of the longest wooden bridges in Japan during the Edo and Meiji periods and a defining landmark of the castle town. Oda produced multiple interpretations of this subject, each varying in season, time of day, or compositional angle. This seventh numbered version likely emphasizes a particular atmospheric condition—possibly snow, mist, or evening light—that distinguishes it from its companion prints in the set. Oda's serial engagement with the Matsue Ôhashi reflects the shin-hanga tradition's interest in exhausting a single subject's expressive possibilities through variation, a practice with roots in Hokusai's and Hiroshige's serial treatments of famous places.
More Prints by Oda Kazuma
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Great Bridge at Matsue was created by Oda Kazuma (織田一磨).
The Great Bridge at Matsue depicts landscapes.