Fireworks at Ryôgoku (Ryôgoku hanabi no zu), Meiji period, dated 1880

Dated 1880 and subtitled Ryôgoku hanabi no zu, this print documents the famous summer fireworks festival held at Ryogoku Bridge — among the most celebrated public events of Edo and Meiji Tokyo. The Sumida River at Ryogoku hosted the Kawabiraki festival each summer, drawing thousands of spectators by boat and along the embankments. Kiyochika's composition almost certainly depicts the bridge silhouetted against a burst-lit sky, with the river below animated by the reflections of rockets and the paper lanterns of assembled pleasure craft. The 1880 date places the print within his most productive period and situates it within the larger 100 Views of Tokyo project. The bokashi work across the sky registers — from the hard white of the burst to the deep indigo of the far shore — represents the full range of his atmospheric technique applied to a subject that had challenged printmakers since Hiroshige's era.