Tsuten Bridge, from
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Hara Shobo
- Image courtesy of
- Hara Shobo
Description
This print depicts Tsuten Bridge at Tofuku-ji temple in Kyoto, a wooden walkway spanning a ravine celebrated for its autumn maple canopy. Kiyochika renders the scene with his characteristic kosen-ga technique, using graduated bokashi to suggest atmospheric depth in the surrounding foliage and dappled light filtering through the trees. The bridge's arching form and the dense woodland setting invited the kind of tonal contrasts between illuminated surfaces and deep shadow that distinguish his work from earlier meisho-e treatments of the site. Tofuku-ji was a perennial subject for artists depicting Kyoto's famous places, but Kiyochika's approach emphasizes mood over topographic clarity, situating the bridge within a broader landscape suffused with specific light conditions rather than presenting it as a legible landmark.
More Prints by Kobayashi Kiyochika
More Landscapes Prints
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
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
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)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tsuten Bridge, from was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).
Tsuten Bridge, from depicts landscapes.