Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige I [歌川 広重] (Japanese, 1797–1858)
Signed: 廣重画 (Hiroshige ga) with red ‘Hiro’ seal
Publisher: Ibaya Sensaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, active 1815–1875)
Censor Seals: Yoshimura (吉村) and Kunigasa (国笠); Kaei 2 (1849)
Media: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; uchiwa-e (fan print), 219 × 290 mm (8 5/8 × 11 7/16 in)
Title: Bird’s Eye View of the Great River in the Eastern Capital (Tōto Ōkawa kyōkei ichiran, 東都大川橋景一覧)
Provenance: Nelkin Collection (Ruth Nelkin, 1927–2022)
A fan print depicting a panoramic aerial view of the Sumida River (Ōkawa) in Edo, with four labeled bridges spanning the waterway from north to south. Numerous sailing vessels and river craft travel in both directions, while the riverbanks are lined with docks, buildings, and open land. Hills and distant structures are visible on the horizon.
Four bridges are identified by vertical red cartouches using mixed kana and kanji:
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Azumabashi (吾妻橋) — labeled あづまハシ
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Ryōgokubashi (両国橋) — labeled 両ごくハシ
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Shin-Ōhashi (新大橋) — labeled 大ハシ
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Eitaibashi (永代橋) — labeled 永代ハシ
The artist’s signature and the censor seals of Yoshimura and Kunigasa appear at the right; the publisher’s seal san (三) in a circle, enclosed in a heart-shaped boar’s eye, appears in the bottom left.
Special thanks to Horst Graebner of the Kunisada Project.
