Hiroshige 広重: Takinogawa, Oji 王子 滝の川

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 (1797-1858)
Title: Takinogawa, Oji 王子 滝の川 
Series: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo 名所江戸百景 (Meisho Edo Hyakkei)
Date: 1856

Autumnal view of the area surrounding Kongoji Temple, known popularly as Momijidera, or Maple Temple. This portion of the Shakujii River was famous for its many maple trees, which here are shown in their deep orange fall colors. The trees were printed with an orange lead pigment, which oxidized in unpredictable ways to give the same effect as ever-changing autumn leaves. We see pilgrim bathers enjoying the waters around Benten Falls at right, as well as the entrance torii to the Grotto Benten, whose image is located within the cave itself. At left we see Matsuhashi bridge and a diagonal path that leads to Oji Gongen shrine. As Henry Smith II notes, the Takinogawa (”waterfall river”) of the title does not refer to the river itself, but to the area south of the waterway. 

Condition: Very good impression, color and condition. 
Dimensions: ôban (36.2 x 24 cm)
Publisher: Uoya Eikichi
Literature: Henry Smith II: Hiroshige One Hundred Famous View of Edo, plate 88. See the Art Institute of Chicago, Brooklyn Museum, LACMA collections
Seal: Censor’s seal “Aratame” and Date seal 
Signature: Hiroshige ga

SKU: HIR539