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This untitled Kiyochika woodblock print participates in the broader Meiji-era genre of Tokyo [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e), topographic views of named or nameable locations within the city, though Kiyochika's treatment of the genre is consistently unorthodox. Where earlier meisho-e emphasized seasonal flora, named mountains, and the social rituals of urban leisure, Kiyochika redirected attention toward the quality of light itself as the defining feature of a place. The Sumida River, Asakusa, Shimbashi, and other locations appear in his work less as settings than as occasions for particular atmospheric conditions. The multi-block printing process, with its careful alignment of each color pass across dampened [washi](/glossary/washi), required the pressman's expertise in managing paper expansion and pigment absorption.