Ancient View of the Yatsuhashi Bridge in Mikawa Province

Catalog note / 解説

This print was conserved with the support of the Robert F. Lange Foundation. This print depicts the scene from Episode 9 of the Tales of Ise, in which Ariwara no Narihira composed an acrostic poem at an eight-planked bridge (yatsuhashi ) over a bed of irises (kakitsubata), starting each of its five lines with a letter from the word kakitsubata. The poem goes: Traveling far away I recall the days wearing Chinese-style robes and being with my beloved wife. According to the Sarashina Diary (11th century), the bridge had already ceased to exist in the middle Heian period, but the scene inspired many artists including Hokusai, and numerous prints and drawings of yatsuhashi have been produced. Th…