Tokyo Tower

Description

The Tokyo Tower was built to serve as a broadcasting station and as a symbol for Japan's postwar economic recovery. As can easily be seen, it was inspired by the Eiffel Tower, and like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, it has become a popular tourist attraction and a prominent landmark for Tokyo. The Tokyo Tower print is unusual for a Shin hanga artist. Most commonly, they would seek to introduce a timelessness in their woodblock prints by either having no signs of modernity in the scene or by reducing its presence. Here, however, Kasamatsu Shiro does the opposite and puts modernity at the center of the print, seemingly unconcerned with any considerations of timelessness, as the first edition was created in 1959, only one year after the Tokyo Tower was completed. Somewhat ironically, whereas in Shin hanga prints modernity would often only be visible in the background, here it is the other way around, and traditional Japan is almost hidden, but still present with a silhouette of a temple rooftop in the background. The print makes it clear that the capability of Shin hanga artists to bring out impressiveness and beauty is not limited to depicting temples, castles, and shrines, and applies to modern buildings equally well.