This print depicts a summer fireworks festival over the Kamogawa River in Kyoto, a seasonal spectacle that drew large crowds to the riverbanks. Oda likely employed deep [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations to render the night sky shifting from black at the zenith to a luminous dark blue near the horizon, with bursts of color reflected in the river's surface below. The composition would contrast the ephemeral blossoms of light against the stable geometry of the riverbanks and any visible bridges. As an urban subject rendered in woodblock, the print engages the traditional genre of [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e) while translating it into a thoroughly modern context, one in which electric light and industrial fireworks define the spectacle rather than lanterns or bonfires.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Fireworks at Kamogawa River was created by Oda Kazuma (織田一磨).
Fireworks at Kamogawa River depicts landscapes.
