Signed: Hiroshige ga; Publisher’s seal: Kawaguchi han (Kawaguchi Uhei); Åban, yoko-e, 22.2 x 35.5 cm; nishiki-e with fukibokashi
From the series “Famous Places in KyÅtoâ€. TsÅ«ten-kyÅ, the “Bridge to Heavenâ€, was built over a gorge in 1379 in order to connect two TÅfukuji temple halls. A pilgrim with a round bamboo hat is looking down from the bridge at a picnic scene under the trees. TÅkaede (“Chinese Mapleâ€) grows on the banks of the brook. This was a popular excursion site in the Edo period, and the maple became so famous that it was also called TsÅ«ten after the bridge.
: Haviland (Hotel Drouot, Paris, June 1925); Rousselot (Paris, 1949); N. Chaikin, Tolochenaz (February 1966)
Riese Collection #156
Tsūtenkyō, “The Bridge with Passes to Heaven” was built over a ravine in the temple of Tōfukuji in 1379. A stream called Sengyokukan, the Jewel Washing River ran through the ravine separating two temple buildings, the Hōdō and the Jōrakudō, and a covered corridor twenty-five meters long was built over the stream to connect them. A particular kind of maple, tōkaede, “Chinese maple”, grew on the banks of the ravine. During the Edo period this became a favourite haunt of autumn sightseers and picnickers, and the maples became so famous that this species was often popularly called Tsūten, after the bridge.
Reproduced in: Ingelheim catalogue, no. 127a.