Mint at Tokiwa Bridge
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
- Image courtesy of
- Japanese Art Open Database
Description
The Mint at Tokiwa Bridge depicts one of the new Meiji government institutions established in Tokyo during the 1870s as part of Japan's program of Western-style modernization. Tokiwa Bridge (Tokiwabashi) spanned the outer moat of the former Edo Castle grounds, and the area became associated with new Western-style government buildings. Kiyochika's composition likely renders the structure's brick or stone architecture alongside the water, using the reflective surface of the moat to extend his characteristic light effects. The subject exemplifies his central artistic preoccupation: documenting the physical transformation of Tokyo under the Meiji reforms by applying a Western-derived tonal vocabulary to scenes that fused the old city fabric with conspicuously foreign architectural forms.
More Prints by Kobayashi Kiyochika
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The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
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Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mint at Tokiwa Bridge was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).
Mint at Tokiwa Bridge depicts landscapes.