Ukiyo-e reproduction Expressing the harmony between art and nature - The bridge at Kanasugi and Shibaura by Hiroshige

"Kanasugi Bridge and Shibaura" (original title: 金杉橋芝浦) is a woodblock print by the Japanese painter and illustrator Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) produced in July 1857.

This print offers a further example of the series' main characteristic, namely the presentation of landscapes through various foreground elements. At the center of the scene, the Kanasugi Bridge, located at the mouth of the Furukawa River, is crossed by a procession of pilgrims. The banners carried by these pilgrims reveal their affiliation with the Nichiren Buddhist sect, symbolized by an orange blossom inset into a square, known as izutsu tachibana. The compact group is easily identifiable by the umbrellas in the lower left corner, above which float white and brown canvases bearing the inscription "Uoei," a reference to the publisher Uoya Eikichi, also known as Sakanaya Eikichi. A long red banner bears the inscription "Namu Myōhō Rengekyō" ("Homage to the Lotus Sutra of the Mystic Law"). This procession is heading to or returning from Honmon-ji Temple, located in the Ikegami district, where the founder of the Nichiren school, Nichiren (1222-1282), died.