Kiyochika 清親: Rain at Sanmai (Mitsueda) Bridge in Hakone 箱根三枝橋雨 (Sold)

Artist: Kobayashi Kiyochika 小林 清親 (1847-1915)
Title: Rain at Sanmai (Mitsueda) Bridge in Hakone 箱根三枝橋雨 Hakone Mitsueda-bashi ame
Date: Ca. 1881

Two travelers prepare to cross the Sanmai Bridge in Hakone. They bend forward against the sheets of driving rain, and even with their traveling hats and cloaks, they must be quite soaked indeed. The bridge has been carefully drawn–with each timber quite exact–as well as all the rocks shown below with the stream flowing against them. Across the bridge we see the outlines of several homes as well as a tree that seems to glow a soft green at left, almost as a beacon. This design surely owes a debt to Hiroshige’s Rain at Ohashi Bridge, and Kiyochika has chosen a scene devoid of modern trappings. In 1880 he took a trip to Hakone, a resort town known for its hot springs and its tremendous views of Mount Fuji. There he made a number of sketches that became eleven landscape prints. Some bear the dates of their sketching, such as this one, which is inscribed “Early July, 4 pm”. The MIA example has a much different palette, but this example seems to be the earlier edition. This is a rarely seen design, especially in this condition.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. With faint traces of mica at top in the sky. Huge, clean margins.
Dimensions: ôban horizontal (24.6 x 36.8 cm)
Publisher: Fukada Kumajirô
Literature: See Minneapolis Institute of Art P.75.51.190 Shizuoka Mus., Kobayashi Kiyochika (exh. cat., 1998), #67; Ukiyo-e taikei 12 (1976), #83; Yoshida, Kiyochika (1964), #5; Tamba (Tanba), Ukiyo-e Edo kara Hakone made (1963), #305.
Signature: Kobayashi Kiyochika

SKU: KYC466