• Picture of Fireworks at Ryōgoku Bridge (<i>Ryōgoku hanabi no zu</i> - 両 国花火之図) - lower half of a six panel composition
Picture of Fireworks at Ryōgoku Bridge (<i>Ryōgoku hanabi no zu</i> - 両 国花火之図) - lower half of a six panel composition
Picture of Fireworks at Ryōgoku Bridge (<i>Ryōgoku hanabi no zu</i> - 両 国花火之図) - lower half of a six panel composition

Utagawa Toyokuni I (初代歌川豊国) (artist 1769 – 02/24/1825)

Picture of Fireworks at Ryōgoku Bridge (Ryōgoku hanabi no zu - 両 国花火之図) - lower half of a six panel composition

Print


ca 1820 – 1825
31.5 in x 15.5 in (Overall dimensions) color woodcut
Signed: Toyokuni ga (豊国画)
Publisher: Yamamotoya Heikichi
(Marks 595, seal 04-007)
Censor's seal: kiwame
Edo-Tokyo Museum - the top three panels only
Chazen Museum of Art - all 6 panels
Victoria and Albert Museum - all six panels The lower 3 panels of a 6 panel hexaptych. The top panels depict a huge crowd watching fireworks from the bridge. The lanterns in the top right quadrant of the right-most panel have "Utagawa" emblazoned on them, the artist's art-group name.

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The curatorial files at the Victoria and Albert Museum say:

"People gather to watch fireworks on a summer evening. They wear simply- patterned kimono permitted by the sumptuary laws. These edicts banned expensive red dye, but there was no restriction on using the colour for undergarments or linings. One woman is lifting the hem of her kimono to seductively reveal the red underneath. Wearing the coveted colour in this way became very fashionable, a fleeting glimpse being deemed more sensuous than an overt display."

The woman referred to in this quote is visible in the center or these panels in the Lyon Collection, however her red undergarment has faded to pink. Nevertheless, the effect is still the same.

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The curatorial files at the Chazen Museum of Art say: "The display of fireworks at Ryogoku Bridge was a recurring theme in ukiyo-e prints. This annual festival marked the opening of the pleasure boating season on the Sumida River. Since the event was held outdoors, inhabitants of Edo from all levels of society could take part and enjoy it. The elaborate pleasure boats included covered areas for entertainment by geisha and musicians, as well as attendants to serve wealthy clients. The most exclusive boats were known by poetic names such as Kawaichi, Yoshino, and Utagawa. Toyokuni has named only one pleasure boat in this composition: Utagawa, or “lyrical river.” Using the artist’s and school’s namesake appears to be a form of playful self-promotion. The multitudes on the bridge, including small children and infants, are shown enjoying themselves in the heat of the night, dressed in summer fashions and carrying fans to cool themselves. Under the bridge, characters respond to a standing courtesan (in the bottom, middle sheet) who appears drunk and about to topple overboard."

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On the right panel, on the second boat back, is written in kanji in three roundels, 歌 - 川 - 丸 or 'the Utagawa ship'. This appears on a structure which shelters a low table with an ikebana display of irises, chrysanthemum-like flowers and a possible bonsai pine tree.

The fellow on the rooftop of the boat on the left is probably an actor is casual summer garb. In his right hand is a pipe and near his left hand is a tobacco pouch. The women throughout look like courtesans and/or geishas.

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The Ryōgoku Bridge was built right after the great Edo fire of 1657. It was officially opened as the Ohashi (or Great) Bridge, but quickly became known as the Ryōgoku (or Two Provinces) Bridge - the bridge that linked Musashi province on the West to Shimosa province on the east. Mikhail Uspensky wrote on page 38 in Hiroshige: One Hundred Views of Edo that "The bridge became a centre of amusements, the most lively in the capital. The numerous tea-houses and restaurants by the bridge were never quiet, day or night."

Later on page 218 Uspensky added: "The Ryogokubashi was a special place in the capital. The bridge itself was built in 1659-61 to the design of the government officials Shibayama Genyemon and Tsubouchi Tozaemon. It was the second bridge across the Sumidagawa and the second in terms of size. After the Senju-Ohashi. The area by the bridge might be called the "carnival district". All sorts of amusements, celebrations and festivities took place around the bridge - on land and on the water."

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Illustrated:

1) All 6 panels are illustrated in a full-page, color reproduction in Impressions of Ukiyo-e by Dora Amsden and Woldemar von Seidlitz, 2007, p 62.

2) The entire composition in color in Ukiyo-e: The Art of the Japanese Print by Frederick Harris, 2010, p. 75.

Harris wrote: "This is a fascinating and very rare print composed of six sheets forming one composition. It is also a remarkable feat of printing to have kept the register intact on all six sheets. The people on the far side of the bridge - an assortment of characters, including parents with children and older folk - are watching fireworks. In the center distance people seem to be watching each other. On the near side of the bridge, they are absorbed in observing the gay life and partying going on in small boats tied up under the bridge. Courtesans are playing shamisen while some are dancing. Everyone is having a great time under the eyes of a curious crowd of pleasure seekers themselves. The boatmen are an intriguing part of the scene."

3) In color in Masterpieces of Japanese Prints: The European Collections - Ukiyo-e from the Victoria and Albert Museum, Kodansha International, 1991, p.55. It shows all six panels.

4) In color, all six panels, in Ukiyo-e to Shin hanga: The Art of Japanese Woodblock Prints, Mallard Press, 1990, p. 116.

5) All six panels in Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School by Laura Mueller, 2007, pp. 104-105.

6) All six panels, large and in color in Japanese Prints by Catherine David, 2010, Éditions Place des Victoires, pp.18-19.

7) All six panels n color in Ukiyo-e Masterpieces in European Collection 4: Victoria and Albert Museum I, Kodansha, 1989, #124.

8) The far left-hand panel in black and white in Japanese Colour Prints by Utagawa Toyokuni I, the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1920, Plate IV.
Yamamotoya Heikichi (山本屋平吉) (publisher)
Historical - Social - Ephemera (genre)
Ryōgokubashi (両国橋) (genre)