#oldedo — Public Fediverse posts

"No. 57, Grounds of Kameido Tenjin Shrine," Hiroshige, 1858.

I've featured Hiroshige (1797-1858) before, so I won't go into much detail about him. This was part of his "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo," which was actually 119 prints, but it seems churlish to rant about false advertising.

The Kameido Tenjin shrine was built in honor of Sugawara no Michizane, a prominent politician and scholar. Serving multiple emperors, he was betrayed by a colleague, lost his position, and died, after which a series of natural disasters struck Japan. Some felt they were his revenge for betrayal, so the shrine was built to appease his spirit. Built in 1646 in the heart of the city, it was moved to the outskirts after a disastrous fire in Edo. It was later destroyed by bombers in WWII but rebuilt in concrete, where it remains today. Reportedly students still go there to pray to pass their exams!

And dig the wisteria! It's blossoming time for Asian wisteria.

From the Cincinnati Art Museum

#Art #AsianArt #JapaneseArt #Hiroshige #Wisteria #OldEdo #Ukiyo-e