“Evening Glow at Ryōgoku Bridge” (Ryōgoku-bashi no sekishō), from the series Eight Fashionable Views of Edo (Fūryū Edo hakkei)
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Two young women, depicted in Harunobu’s distinctive style—petite, svelte, and gentle in demeanor—sit on a terrace overlooking Ryōgoku Bridge as the sun sets beside Mount Fuji, to the west of Edo (the former name of Tokyo). The poem puns on the literal meaning of Ryōgoku-bashi: “Bridge of Both Provinces,” referring to Musashi (including Edo) and Shimōsa to the east:
Kawakaze mo / hedataru kuni no /
na nomi nite / onaji yūhi no /
wataru nagahashi
While its name suggests
the breezes across the river
separate two provinces,
the same sunset shines over
both sides of the long bridge.
—Trans. John T. Carpenter
Kawakaze mo / hedataru kuni no /
na nomi nite / onaji yūhi no /
wataru nagahashi
While its name suggests
the breezes across the river
separate two provinces,
the same sunset shines over
both sides of the long bridge.
—Trans. John T. Carpenter
Artwork Details
- 鈴木春信画 「風流江戸八景 両国橋の夕照」
- Title: “Evening Glow at Ryōgoku Bridge” (Ryōgoku-bashi no sekishō), from the series Eight Fashionable Views of Edo (Fūryū Edo hakkei)
- Artist: Suzuki Harunobu (Japanese, 1725–1770)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: 1768
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical chūban
- Dimensions: Image: 10 3/4 × 7 3/4 in. (27.3 × 19.7 cm)
Frame: 16 5/8 × 13 3/8 in. (42.2 × 34 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Lent by Lee E. Dirks
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art