Nihon Bridge

Description

It was unusual for Kasamatsu Shiro to display modernity. The current print is centered around the Nihon bridge that signifies it however. First constructed there using wood in the 17th century, the surrounding area later become the Nihonbashi district, a hotbed of business activity, as reflected in the back with the tall modern structures. The bridge depicted here was build with stone and steel at the beginning of the 20th century. At the time the print was made, modernity was not allencompassing however, and a closer look reveals a manually driven boat still floating underneath, unaffected by the new world rising above it.