The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 5, 2026

A vertically oriented woodblock print depicts a nocturnal river scene. On the left, a towering wooden pillar rises from dark blue, rippled water, while a beam cuts diagonally from the bottom right. Small boats float centrally, one featuring a flicker of orange flame. Clustered ships with spindly masts line the right. Red labels are inset at top right and left. Overhead, a pale moon and stars dot the dark sky above a distant island.

Tsukudajima from Eitai Bridge, from the series One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo

1858

Utagawa Hiroshige

(Japanese, 1797–1858)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
color woodblock print
Sheet: 36.5 x 24.5 cm (14 3/8 x 9 5/8 in.)
Bequest of Harley C. Lee and Elizabeth K. Lee 1992.73
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Moonlight casts a glow on the masts and ships at anchor, and stars dust the evening sky.

Description

This woodblock print is from the series of landscape views of Edo, present-day Tokyo, from Hiroshige’s late career. The series title is in the dark red rectangular cartouche on the upper right, while the name of the print is in the pink square. Although Tsukudajima and Eitai Bridge are important enough to merit mentions in the title, the island is tiny and in the distance at the mouth of the river, and only part of a bridge piling is visible.

Hiroshige’s dramatic composition instead foregrounds the oar of a passing boat. Other vessels in the middle distance moored under the starry sky. Fishing boats with burning torches to attract fish ply the water both near the bridge and beyond the island.
  • Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1992." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 2 (February 1993): 38-79. Mentioned: p. 77 www.jstor.org
  • Later Japanese Art Gallery Rotation (Gallery 113); February 20 - May 6, 2003.
  • {{cite web|title=Tsukudajima from Eitai Bridge, from the series One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo|url=false|author=Utagawa Hiroshige|year=1858|access-date=05 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1992.73