Ryōgoku Bridge and the Great Riverbank
1856 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · National Diet Library, Tokyo
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This print
About this work
- Artist
- Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858)
- Year
- 1856
- Medium
- Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Original size
- approx. 36 × 24 cm (ōban)
- Collection
- National Diet Library, Tokyo (impression pid 1303243; many other impressions exist)
- Movement
- Ukiyo-e
- Series
- One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
The long wooden Ryōgoku Bridge sweeps diagonally across the sheet, its deck crowded with people, while boats of every size move on the deep blue Sumida below. In the foreground the rooftops and yellow awnings of stalls line the riverbank, and white sails stand out against a rose sky. The print is number fifty-nine in One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, published by Uoya Eikichi, with a censor's seal of the eighth month of 1856. Ryōgoku, two provinces, took its name from the bridge that joined Musashi and Shimōsa, and the open ground at its ends was one of the liveliest entertainment districts in Edo. Hiroshige views it from above, so the whole span reads as one strong line; impressions vary in colour and condition.
This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Deep river blue with a cream bridge and a pink sky, for a living room, hallway or home office at 16×24 in natural wood. It pairs with Fireworks by Ryōgoku Bridge, the same bridge on a summer night.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Ukiyo-e painting
- Era
- 19th century (1856)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cornflower blue
- Mood
- classic
- Rooms
- living room, hallway or entryway, home office, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, travelers, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway.
Framing. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or natural wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Ryōgoku Bridge and the Great Riverbank in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Ryōgoku Bridge and the Great Riverbank painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
