Ryogoku hanabi (Fireworks, Ryogoku)

Details

UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Ryogoku hanabi (Fireworks, Ryogoku)
Woodblock print, from the series Meisho Edo hyakkei (One hundred views of famous places in Edo), signed Hiroshige ga, date sealed Horse 8 (1858, 8th month), published by Uoya Eikichi
Vertical oban: 13 7/8 x 9 5/8 in. (35.2 x 24.4 cm.)

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Lot Essay

The firework displays at the Ryogoku Bridge were among the most popular summer pleasures of Edo residents since 1733, when the first official fireworks were commissioned by the eighth Tokugawa Shogun, Yoshimune, to commemorate citizens who had died in a cholera epidemic. The memorial, including a display of fireworks, became an annual observance.

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