Drum Bridge at the KameidoTenjin Shrine

Catalog note / 解説

The scene depicts the drum bridge at the Kameido Tenjin Shrine on the eastern fringe of Edo. Built in the 1660s and dedicated to the deified Sugawara Michizane, a saint of great learning and a master of calligraphy, the shrine became a popular site to visit for its two attractions: beautiful wisteria blossoms in early summer, and a pair of drum bridges spanning the ponds on the approach to the shrine. The steeply arched drum bridges delighted all people, especially children. In this print, Hokusai seems to have depicted the larger bridge, because of its size called the Male Bridge; the smaller was known as the Female Bridge. A priest and some people are seen carefully climbing up this unusu…