Summer Fireworks at Shinobazu Pond, Tokyo

Summer Fireworks at Shinobazu Pond, Tokyo
Summer Fireworks at Shinobazu Pond, Tokyo

Summer Fireworks at Shinobazu Pond, Tokyo

Date1881
Mediumcolor woodblock print on paper
Dimensionsimage: 8 x 12 1/4 in. (20.3 x 31.1 cm) sheet: 8 7/8 x 13 1/4 in.
ClassificationPRINTS
Credit LineSBMA, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Roland A. Way
Object number1985.43.1
Subject(s)
  • summer
  • pond
  • inscription
  • figure
Collection
  • Asian
Sub-Collection(s)
  • Japanese
  • Ukiyo-e
On View
On view
Label TextKobayashi Kiyochika
Kiyochika’s career spanned the entirety of the Meiji era (1868-1912), a time of rapid social change as Japan entered the modern era.  He created an innovative style by incorporating various Western artistic techniques and expressions into traditional ukiyo-e aesthetics. He was especially renowned for his “light ray pictures” (kōsenga) exploring the effects of light and darkness, in particular in nighttime scenes illuminated by the newly introduced gas lamps in the city. These two prints depict the viewing of fireworks, in the old days a religious purification activity to ward off illness brought by the summer heat, but by Kiyochika’s time signaling the arrival of summer.  Kiyochika’s conscious play on the manifold effects of light, through reflections, shadows, silhouettes, and illumination evoke in these prints a mood at once lyrical and haunting, both nostalgic and foreboding, which earned Kiyochika the title “Hiroshige of Meiji,” comparing him to the great Edo landscape master.
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