Chrysanthemun Show in Hibiya Park, Tokyo

This print depicts the annual chrysanthemum exhibition held in Hibiya Park, the Western-style public park adjacent to the Imperial Palace grounds in central Tokyo. The Hibiya chrysanthemum shows were major autumn events in which elaborately trained kiku — trained into domed forms, cascades, and figured arrangements — were displayed on outdoor platforms, drawing crowds throughout the season. Koizumi's composition likely captures the density of exhibition structures, crowds of viewers, and the park's European-style iron lampposts and allées against the seasonal color of chrysanthemum blooms in white, yellow, and purple. The subject bridges the kacho-e tradition of flower depiction with the meisho-e tradition of recording specific Tokyo locations, a combination characteristic of Koizumi's approach to documenting urban life.