「瀧の川の図」

Takinogawa, a valley in what is now Kita Ward in northern Tokyo, was celebrated during the Edo period for its autumn maples and was a popular excursion destination. This print likely depicts the wooded gorge through which the Shakujii River flows, with the natural landscape rendered in Kiyochika's atmospheric manner. Two prints in the collection share this title, suggesting they may be sequential views or variant compositions of the same location. The treatment of light through foliage and the handling of water would demonstrate Kiyochika's adaptation of Western tonal techniques to a traditional meisho-e subject. The Takinogawa area retained its recreational character into the Meiji period, making it a fitting subject for his landscape series documenting surviving natural scenery near the modernizing capital.