Kiyochika 清親: Horse with Daikon on Dokan Mountain 道灌山

Artist: Kobayashi Kiyochika 小林清親 (1847-1915)
Title: Dokan Hill 道灌山

Series: One Hundred Views of Musashi Province 武蔵百景之内 (Musashi hyakkei no uchi)  Date: 1884 (Meiji 17)

Humorous view of Dokan Hill, from a horse’s eye perspective.  In what might be an amusing allusion to Hiroshige’s famous view of the back end of a horse, here we see a horse eying the bunches of beautiful white daikon radishes that have recently tumbled from its back. Its eyes are wide, but it seems to have a woven muzzle cover that would prevent him from snacking on his valuable cargo. The horse also wears woven straw horseshoes and a patterned blue cloth hanging below the saddle. Although the rest of the view could be from the Edo period, we catch a glimpse of a train that is moving through the ravine below to remind us of the rapid westernization occurring during this Meiji period. In the middle distance we see a couple climbing the hill to enjoy the scenic overlook. Hiroshige published several scenes that show the view from atop this hill, including a view during cherry blossom season in “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”. Today it is the elevated area next to Nishi-Nippori Station.

This series serves as a bold and innovative bridge between Hiroshige's 100 Views of Edo and and Hasui's views of Tokyo in the early 20th century. 

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Small discoloration in sky.

Dimensions: ôban 35 x 23.7 cm
Publisher: Kobayashi Tetsujirô Literature: Edo Tokyo Museum Website
Signature: Shinseirô Kiyochika

SKU: KYC498