A Distant View of Ryogokubashi Bridge from Motoyanagibashi — 元柳橋両国遠景
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
- Image courtesy of
- Japanese Art Open Database
Description
This meisho-e view looks downstream from Motoyanagibashi toward Ryogokubashi, two of the most prominent bridges spanning the Sumida River in eastern Tokyo. The vantage point — one bridge seen from another — creates a layered recession into pictorial depth that Kiyochika articulates through atmospheric perspective, with the distant bridge softened by haze or evening light. The Sumida River was a constant subject in his Tokyo series, offering the reflective water surface he used to extend and complicate the behavior of light sources — lanterns, the moon, the diffuse glow of an overcast sky. This composition likely belongs to his 1876–1881 period of concentrated meisho-e production, when he systematically documented Tokyo's historic waterways and bridges as the city underwent rapid physical transformation under Meiji-era modernization.
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Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Distant View of Ryogokubashi Bridge from Motoyanagibashi — 元柳橋両国遠景 was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).
A Distant View of Ryogokubashi Bridge from Motoyanagibashi — 元柳橋両国遠景 depicts landscapes.