Artist:Utagawa Hiroshige
Medium: Woodblock print
Geograhical Locations:
Dates:7th month of 1856
Dimensions: Sheet: 14 1/8 x 9 5/8 in. (35.9 x 24.5 cm) Image: 13 7/16 x 8 13/16 in. (34.1 x 22.4 cm)
Collections:
Exhibitions:
Accession Number: 39.575
Image: 39.575_PS20.jpg,
Catalogue Description: A bright winter scene at the entrance to Asakusa Kannon, the oldest and most venerable Buddhist temple in the city. The temple, which was founded in the year 628, was also a major entertainment center, with many movie houses (in the twentieth century) and vaudeville theaters located nearby. This bright red and white print was chosen to start the winter season, with snowflakes drifting down from the gray sky, showing texture on the rooftops and in a pattern of small embossed dots on the ground. On the left side is a portion of the famous Kaminarimon, or Thunder Gate, and a huge lantern above. The gate was destroyed by fire in 1865 and was not reconstructed until 1960. The Gate of the Two Kings in the distance was named after the guardian deities on either side. On the right is a five story pagoda, beyond which is the Main Hall of the temple (not shown here). Both structures were destroyed in 1945 and were rebuilt after the war. The long path between the two gates housed a row of souvenir and toy shops, which in Hiroshige's time were mostly temporary structures that were folded up at night - none are in sight in this scene.