1873 Yoshitora Ukiyo-e Triptych of the New Megane Bridge, Tokyo

Rare Ukiyo-e: Building a Bridge to Modernity.

This is Utagawa Yoshitora's c. 1873 Ukiyo-e woodblock triptych of the New Megane Bridge near Tokyo. The view presents Japanese society at the start of the Meiji era, rooted in the traditions of the Edo period but rapidly adopting new influences from abroad.

A Closer Look

The view is oriented towards the southwest, focused on the Shin-Meganebashi (New Spectacles Bridge) over the Kanda River on the outskirts of Tokyo. The bridge is abuzz with activity, both above and below, on the water. People walking or carrying goods, carriages, rickshaws, and boats travel about giving the impression of a society in constant motion. The clothing and conveyances seen here are reflective of the early Meiji period. Most people, especially women and children, continue to dress in the Japanese style, but a handful of figures on foot and in the carriage at center have adopted partial Western dress, including bowler hats and suit coats (in some cases worn over a kimono). The presence of rickshaws is also characteristic of the Meiji era, replacing the litters (kago and norimono) of the Edo period.

In the center of the background is Mt. Fuji, while at right is the north bank of the Kanda River and at left is the south bank. Yatsukouji (八ツ小路) at left was a wide-open crossroads that was originally designed as a firebreak, one of several planned in Edo following a series of destructive fires. Yatsukouji was a particularly large firebreak and, as it was situated at the intersection of several roads leading into Edo, became a well-known site depicted in several Ukiyo-e prints of the Edo period. At right is the Kanda Myoujin Shrine (神田神社), built in 1616, and a 'University Faculty Hall' (大学教師館); it is unclear which university this refers to exactly, but the area is home to several that were established in the early Meiji period.

The New Megane Bridge

This woodblock triptych focuses on the Shin-Meganebashi (New Spectacles Bridge) over the Kanda River in Sujikai (筋違), in today's Manseibashi, what was then the edge of Tokyo but is now well within the city center. The bridge earned its name because its two stone arches, when reflected in the water, resembled a pair of eyeglasses. It was dubbed the 'New' Spectacles Bridge because a famous bridge of the Edo era in Nagasaki was already called Meganebashi, or Spectacles Bridge. That older bridge, built in 1634, is one of the oldest stone arch bridges in Japan. Updating the bridges of Edo (now rechristened Tokyo) was a major imperative of the new Meiji government that came into power in 1868. Several high-profile bridges were built in the modern Western style, with iron and later steel, but the New Spectacles Bridge was more of a hybrid design, made of stone and flat-topped rather than with an arched roadway, as was common with earlier Japanese bridges.

Meiji Era Tokyo

With the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the Tokugawa Shogunate was displaced from Edo, and the Emperor Meiji moved the imperial capital from Kyoto to Edo (renamed Tokyo, 'eastern capital'). The Meiji era was a period of tremendous change in Japan, particularly in cities, and in Tokyo more than any other. New ideas, technologies, and fashions from abroad were sought out and adopted with incredible rapidity, and in the process were localized to suit Japanese tastes. Building on the foundations of Tokugawa Edo, Meiji-era Tokyo intermingled traditional architecture with styles reminiscent of Victorian London. However, much of Tokyo as it exists here would be destroyed in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.

Kaika-e (開化繪)

As this view highlights elements of change in Tokyo brought by Western influence, it could be considered part of the kaika-e subgenre of ukiyo-e.Kaika-e is the Edo / Tokyo equivalent of the Yokohama-e (橫濱繪) genre, depicting foreigners and foreign technologies in the wake of Japan's forcible opening to the world in the 1850s. The phrase 'kaika' is an abbreviation of bunmei-kaika (文明開化), meaning 'civilization and enlightenment,' a slogan and guiding philosophy of the early Meiji period. Kaika-e became especially popular in the 1870s and was encouraged by the Meiji government as a way of advertising the modernization of the new regime's capital city. As with Yokohama-e, common themes included Western-style or hybrid architecture, clothing, and new modes of transportation, as well as scenes of Japanese and foreigners fraternizing amicably.

Publication History and Census

This woodblock was designed by Utagawa Yoshitora (signing here as Mōsai Yoshitora 孟斎芳虎) and was published by Sawamuraya Seikichi (沢村屋清吉) around the year 1873, when the titular bridge was completed. It is rare, only appearing in the institutional collections of Keio University and the Adachi Ward Local Museum.

Cartographers

Utagawa Yoshitora (歌川芳虎; fl. c. 1835 - 1882) was a member of the Utagawa school of woodblock artists of the late Edo and Meiji periods. Little is known about his early life aside from his being born in Edo (Tokyo). He was a student of Utagawa Kuniyoshi, with whom he later had a falling out, possibly due to his 1849 satirical, irreverent print of important figures from Japanese history. After briefly slipping past censors, the print became very popular but was immediately confiscated once authorities realized it could be interpreted as a thinly veiled critique of the Tokugawa (Yoshitora was arrested for fifty days as a result). Nevertheless, he continued to produce prints at an impressive rate, and, like his teacher, focused on prints depicting samurai, beautiful women, kabuki actors, and foreigners (Yokohama-e). His works were displayed at the 1867 Exposition Universel along with those of Sadahide, a member of another branch or lineage of the Utagawa school. Yoshitora was considered second only to Sadahide among nishiki-e artists around the time of the Meiji Restoration. The details of his death are unknown, but his last known work was published in 1882.   Further Details...

Sawamuraya Seikichi (沢村屋清吉; c. 1855 - 1903), from 1876 known as Takekawa Seikichi (武川清吉 or 竹川清吉), was a late Edo - Meiji period printer and publisher of Ukiyo-e (nishiki-e) works, including those by leading artists of the day such as Kunisada II, Hiroshige III, Toyohara Kunichika, Kobayashi Kiyochika, and Kuniyoshi. Sawamuraya began publishing books with illustrations c. 1855 but switched to standalone actor and warrior prints from the mid-1860s (the latter in conjunction with Maruya Tetsujirō 丸屋鉄次郎). Originally located in Kanda on the outskirts of Tokyo, in 1881 he relocated to a more central location in Nihonbashi. In the late 1880s, the firm began to publish under the names Takekawa Unokichi (武川卯之吉) and Takekawa Unosuke (武川卯之助; fl. c. 1888 - 1912), thought to be sons of Takekawa Seikichi.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Slight edge wear.