The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

The Monkey Bridge

early 1830s

Katsushika Taito II

(Japanese, active c. 1810–50s)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
color woodblock print
26 x 23.5 cm (10 1/4 x 9 1/4 in.)
Gift from J. H. Wade 1921.413
Location: Not on view

Description

Taito II, who studied with Hokusai, created this image of the Monkey Bridge in Kai Province, west of Tokyo. By depicting the moon beneath the narrow bridge, he emphasized the height of the gorge.

Before it was given to the museum by one of its founders, Jeptha H. Wade, this print was trimmed. Uncut versions of the same scene include a section with a poetic inscription designed to look like a rubbing from a stone stele, or commemorative marker, often erected in scenic locations. Ink was also applied differently to produce varying effects in other impressions.
  • through 1921
    Paul Blondeau, Jacquin Collection, through 1921
    January 22, 1921
    (Walpole Galleries, New York, NY, sale January 22, 1921, lot 524)
    January 22-March 17, 1921
    (Yamanaka & Co., New York, NY, 1921. Sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    3/17/1921-present
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, 1921-present
  • Walpole Galleries (New York, N.Y.), and Frederick William Gookin. Rare and Valuable Japanese Color Prints ; the Noted Collection Formed by a Distinguished French Connoisseur of Paris ...: Exhibition and Unrestricted Sale at Delmonico's ... the Week of January 17th to 22nd, 1921 ... Sale Thursday, Friday and Saturday Evening. New York: Walpole Galleries, 1921. p. 166, cat. no. 524 library.si.edu
  • Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 30, 2018-January 6, 2019).
  • {{cite web|title=The Monkey Bridge|url=false|author=Katsushika Taito II|year=early 1830s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1921.413