東海道五十三次　日本橋|Nihon bashi

Utagawa Hiroshige

ca. 1848–49 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

The journey depicted in the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō begins with Nihonbashi, the "Bridge of Japan" that marks the center of the city of Edo. Hiroshige illustrates the hustle-bustle of the traffic on the bridge. Large fish are delivered from the nearby fish market. Behind the bridge warehouses are lined up along the river. Some of the Japanese characters on the white walls of the buildings correspond to the name of the publisher of this Tōkaidō series, Maruya Seijirō. This print shows the bridge across the composition and includes a panoramic scene of Edo castle and Mount Fuji. By contrast, the Hoeidō print shows a procession approaching the end of the bridge that is viewed frontally at the center of the composition.

Artist

Utagawa Hiroshige

Date

ca. 1848–49

Medium

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

The Francis Lathrop Collection, Purchase, Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1911