Traditional Print Paying Homage to the Ephemerality of Japanese Nature - Hiroshige's Mama Maples and Tsugihashi Bridge

"Maple Trees at Mama, Tekona Shrine, and Tsugihashi Bridge" (original title: 真間の紅葉手古那の社継はし) is a woodblock print by the Japanese painter and illustrator Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) produced in January 1857.

The trunks of two majestic maple trees frame the image, their intertwined branches providing a symphony of leaves in the fall, displaying distinct reddish and blackish hues thanks to a chemical variation in pigments. Along the Edo-gawa River, east of Edo, the inhabitants of Mama stroll, drawn by the beauty of the maples at this time of year. In this area stands the Buddhist temple Guhō-ji, where a shrine is dedicated to Tekona, a peasant girl of great beauty who, according to the legend recorded in the famous 8th-century Man'yoshu ("Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves"), threw herself into the river to escape the suitors who were making her life miserable. Founded in 1501, this temple offers worshippers the opportunity to pray for a safe delivery or protection from chickenpox. On the left of the print, the temple is distinguished by its steeply pitched roof, preceded by a torii arch. The Tsugihashi Bridge ("long bridge"), in the center of the image, also evokes this legend: another anthology of poetry mentions a suitor of Tekona who laments that he cannot cross the bridge at night to join his beloved. The composition, marked by the leaves in the foreground and the soft evening light, gives a lyrical atmosphere to this scene where the legend of Tekona comes to life.