Asakusa River, Great Riverbank, Miyato River, No. 60 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
Utagawa Hiroshige
Asian Art
The point of view here is looking north from just under Ryogoku Bridge. Hiroshige provides a characteristically indirect depiction of one of the most interesting summer customs associated with the bridge, the ablutions of the Mount Oyama pilgrims. Instead of showing the spot under the bridge where they rinsed themselves before setting out for the sacred mountain, this view features pilgrims returning from the ablution site. The bonten, or huge assemblages of ritual paper strips dominating the composition, were used by the ascetics who spread the Oyama cult. The title of the print may seem confusing, since Asakusa River, Great Riverbank, and Miyato River all refer to the same river—the Sumida.
MEDIUM
Woodblock print
DATES
7th month of 1857
PERIOD
Edo Period, Ansei Era
DIMENSIONS
Sheet: 14 5/16 x 9 5/16 in. (36.4 x 23.7 cm)
Image: 13 x 8 1/2 in. (33 x 21.6 cm) (show scale)
MARKINGS
No publihser's seal visible, probably lost when left margin was trimmed. Date seal and censor seal in top margin.
SIGNATURE
Hiroshige-ga
COLLECTIONS
Asian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
30.1478.60
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Anna Ferris
PROVENANCE
Prior to 1930, provenance not yet documented; by 1930, acquired by Anna Ferris of Summit, NJ; 1930, gift of Anna Ferris to the Brooklyn Museum.
Provenance FAQ
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
A view of one of the more interesting summer customs associated with the Ryogoku Bridge, the ablutions of the Mount Oyama pilgrims. The pilgrims rinsed themselves in the waters of the Sumida as an act of ritual purification before journeying to the sacred Mount Oyama, some forty miles to the south. The ritual was designed to greet the summer by purging the noxious spirits of the season. This view shows two groups of pilgrims returning by boat from the ablution site to the boat landing at Yanagibashi, where the Kanda River flows into the Sumida (suggested by the horizontal bank of deep blue). The yamabushi or mountain ascetics were responsible for the spread of the Oyama cult through the Kanto region, recruiting groups of pilgrims to climb the mountain. As they crossed the river, the pilgrims chanted ritual phrases and after their ablutions would proceed through the streets of downtown Edo, distributing the gohei (ritual paper strips). There is confusion regarding the title of this print because Asukagawa, Okawa and Mitayogawa are all alternate names for the Sumida River. (The title of the print was changed in later printings to "In Boats at Ryogoku with a Distant View of Asakusa.")
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797–1858). Asakusa River, Great Riverbank, Miyato River, No. 60 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 7th month of 1857. Woodblock print, Sheet: 14 5/16 x 9 5/16 in. (36.4 x 23.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.60 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 30.1478.60_PS20.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 30.1478.60_PS20.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2023
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