Ryogoku bosetsu (Evening snow at Ryogoku)

Toto hakkei (Evening Views of the Eastern Capital) is a set of eight fan-format prints depicting eight scenic views of Edo. It is regarded as one of Hiroshige’s finest series and is particularly rare. Hiroshige had a deep fascination with the landscapes of Edo, and his careful attention to detail is especially evident in this series (lots 111-113). Each scene is presented within a fan-shaped frame on a pink or blue background that enhances the composition. This suggests that the prints may not have been intended to be cut out and mounted as fans. Each print bears a poem by a different kyoka poet, suggesting that the series was originally commissioned by a kyoka poetry group.
Ryogoku bosetsu (Evening snow at Ryogoku) may be the best design from the series. From the snow-covered foreground, the composition leads the viewer’s eye naturally across Ryogoku Bridge toward the distant landscape on the opposite bank. The snowflakes rendered against the dark and pale sumi grounds and the blue ai ground create a vibrant and striking contrast, giving the scene a particularly distinctive character.
The poem by Chomaiso Miyanagi has been read and translated by Henri Kerlen as:
Ryogoku no
Hashi no tamoto mo
Fusagu ni mo
Tada shirotae no
Yuki no yugure
The open ends of
the Ryogoku Bridge
are barricaded by it;
white as sheets made of mulberry
snow in the evening dusk.