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Lot Essay
The “Hoeido Tokaido” series was so successful that impressions continued to be produced even after Hiroshige’s death. Some of its most popular compositions were subsequently reissued from new blocks, including the present print of Nihonbashi.
An earlier impression of the design (lot 114) depicts a quiet morning, with a thin band of pink along the horizon announcing the break of day. In the foreground, a small group of porters pass by the bridge, while a daimyo procession makes its way across it. The porters are compressed toward the left edge of the composition, balanced by a pair of dogs on the right, almost as if both have moved aside to clear the way for the passing procession.
In the later redesigned edition, as seen in the present lot, the emphasis shifts noticeably toward the the Edo commoners who populate the entire foreground. They appear relaxed and unconcerned with the procession behind them; a child carrying a lantern emblazoned with the publisher Takenouchi’s mark even pauses to interact with two puppies. The daimyo procession, by contrast, has effectively receded into the background. Although its members may be the only figures actually crossing the bridge, they visually merge with the lively crowd before them rather than dominating the scene.
As Jim Dwinger noted in the 2023 catalogue of the Medaugh Collection, there is a certain irony in the revised title, Daimyo Procession Setting Out: despite this new emphasis in the title, the procession itself is no longer the principal subject of the composition. Instead, it is the everyday activity of Edo’s merchants and travelers that takes center stage.
An earlier impression of the design (lot 114) depicts a quiet morning, with a thin band of pink along the horizon announcing the break of day. In the foreground, a small group of porters pass by the bridge, while a daimyo procession makes its way across it. The porters are compressed toward the left edge of the composition, balanced by a pair of dogs on the right, almost as if both have moved aside to clear the way for the passing procession.
In the later redesigned edition, as seen in the present lot, the emphasis shifts noticeably toward the the Edo commoners who populate the entire foreground. They appear relaxed and unconcerned with the procession behind them; a child carrying a lantern emblazoned with the publisher Takenouchi’s mark even pauses to interact with two puppies. The daimyo procession, by contrast, has effectively receded into the background. Although its members may be the only figures actually crossing the bridge, they visually merge with the lively crowd before them rather than dominating the scene.
As Jim Dwinger noted in the 2023 catalogue of the Medaugh Collection, there is a certain irony in the revised title, Daimyo Procession Setting Out: despite this new emphasis in the title, the procession itself is no longer the principal subject of the composition. Instead, it is the everyday activity of Edo’s merchants and travelers that takes center stage.