The Arched Bridge at Kameido Tenjin Shrine (from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces)
Year: Edo period : circa 1834
Medium: woodblock print
Dimensions: 24.7 x 37.3 cm (9 3/4 x 14 5/8 in.)
Acquired from Sotheby’s, 2023
This work is one of the eleven prints comprising Hokusai’s “Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces,” a series produced toward the end of the artist’s life. This series is an example of a collection of “meisho-e” prints (prints portraying famous locations), alongside Hokusai’s own “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji,” or Hiroshige Utagawa’s “Fifty-three Stations on the Tokaido Road.” “Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces” depicts scenes with bridges of renowned beauty across Japan. Many of those featured remain celebrated landmarks even today, such as the Togetsukyo Bridge in Arashiyama, Kyoto, the Takahashi Bridge at Gyodosan Joinji Temple in Ashikaga, and the Kintaikyo Bridge in Yamaguchi. Some bridges, however, had already ceased to stand by Hokusai’s time, while the existence of others has never been verified. This work showcases the magnificent arched bridge at Kameido Tenjin Shrine, which still exists today, albeit rebuilt in concrete. Compared to the shape of the bridge as it is now, the steepness of the arch in Hokusai’s print appears exaggerated, but an examination of pre-war photographic records shows that until its postwar reconstruction, the bridge’s shape was closer to how it is depicted here. Hokusai’s contemporary Hiroshige also frequently portrayed the arched bridge at the Kameido Tenjin Shrine, which shows how popular the bridge was among the people of Edo at the time.
