Description
Precious original woodblock print of large vertical format produced in December 1854 by the publisher Maruya Jinpachi (丸屋甚八), owner of Enjudo (円寿堂). The work is taken from the series “Ten Views of Mount Fuji from Edo” (江戸ノ富士十景之内), by the artist Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞), and is dedicated to the Nihonbashi (日本橋) bridge. In the foreground a bijin (美人) beauty observes from the bridge a fascinating urban landscape on which, in the background, the Edo Castle (江戸城) and Mount Fuji (富士山) stands out.
Nihonbashi first became famous during the 17th century, when it was the eastern terminus of the famous Kisokaido (木曾街道) and Tokaido (東海道) connecting routes. The bridge is still the point from which all distances are measured to the capital: highway signs indicating the distance to Tokyo actually state the number of kilometres to Nihonbashi.
The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the right signs of aging and in particular a stain on the upper right corner and some small thinning of the paper, is in overall good condition.
