Fireflies at Ochanomizu — 御茶水螢
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Honolulu Museum of Art
Description
Ochanomizu — the "tea water" district in Kanda where the Kanda River cuts through a rocky gorge — was one of Tokyo's most atmospheric urban landscapes, its stone embankments and overhanging trees a striking contrast to the flat river margins of the Sumida. Kiyochika depicts it on a summer evening when fireflies would gather along the cool, shaded waterway — the title's fireflies (hotaru) signalling a scene of seasonal enchantment in what was already becoming an increasingly built-up urban district by the 1870s.
More Prints by Kobayashi Kiyochika
More Rivers & Lakes Prints
Lake Chuzenji, Nikko (Nikko Chuzenjiko)
Nikko Chuzenjiko
1930
Color woodblock print; oban
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
Gosai Canal in Niigata (Niigata Gosaibori), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
Niigata Gosaibori
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
The Hori River at Obama (Obama Horikawa), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, First Series (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Obama Horikawa
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Frequently Asked Questions
Fireflies at Ochanomizu — 御茶水螢 was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).
Fireflies at Ochanomizu — 御茶水螢 depicts rivers & lakes, night scenes, and insects.