Bikuni Bridge in Snow, No. 114 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
Utagawa Hiroshige
Asian Art
Two types of eating establishments set the scene here. To the right is a stall selling roasted yams. The lantern advertises with clever wordplay that this winter favorite is "tastier than chestnuts." To the left, a shop offers "mountain whale" (yamakujira), a euphemism for the meat of wild animals. Like other momonjiya ("hairy monster shops"), this establishment would have offered, in addition to the standard fare of boar and deer, such delicacies as bear, monkey, badger, otter, fox, wolf, and weasel. To an Edo clientele, wild-animal flesh had special restorative powers.
MEDIUM
Woodblock print
DATES
10th month of 1858
PERIOD
Edo Period, Ansei Era
DIMENSIONS
Sheet: 14 3/16 x 9 1/4 in. (36 x 23.5 cm)
Image: 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm) (show scale)
MARKINGS
No publisher's seal visible - probably lost when left margin was trimmed.
SIGNATURE
Hiroshige-ga
COLLECTIONS
Asian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
30.1478.114
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
This view looks across Bikuni Bridge (toward Sukiyabashi Gate and the current Sukiyabashi intersection), where a laden porter is approaching the street beyond where a fire tower rises up. Snow is falling from the deep indigo sky. On the further side is a man with his head buried in his umbrella. In Hiroshige's day, Bikunibashi (Nun's Bridge) was associated with the bikuni, a type of low-class prostitute originally disguised as a nun. The bikuni, who were of a slightly higher grade than the yotaka (seen in print 105 of the series), worked in cheap, unlicensed brothels known as bikuniyado, several of which were reported to have been located in this area. On the right is a stall selling roasted yams, a winter favorite in Tokyo; the lantern advertises maruyaki, or "roasted whole." Baskets of yams lie on the ground outside, near a dog and her puppies. On the left is a shop offering "mountain whale" (yamakujira - meat of wild animals). In an earlier period Buddhist law prohibited the eating of animal meat, but this taboo was breaking down by Hiroshige's day. Shops of this type were always located in rather disreputable places and would offer boar, monkey, raccoon-dog, otter, fox, wolf, and weasel. According to Ishii Kendo, this particular shop was still in business at the same location in 1919, but was offering chicken and beef, meat of domesticated animals. It is theorized that this print may be the work of Shigenobu, the future Hiroshige II. The style and content do not appear to be characteristic of Hiroshige; the empty space in the foreground and the placement of the snowflakes in the sky offer a sense of incompletion.
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797–1858). Bikuni Bridge in Snow, No. 114 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 10th month of 1858. Woodblock print, Sheet: 14 3/16 x 9 1/4 in. (36 x 23.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.114 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 30.1478.114_PS20.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 30.1478.114_PS20.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2023
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
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