One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.76Riverside bamboo market at Kyobashi

This is an evening scene of the Kyobashi Bridge in the early summer, with a full moon rising from the east. The bridge got its name because it was the first one on the Tokaido Highway to Kyoto, and it spanned a river, also called the Kyobashi, which flows out of a castle moat. The posts on the bridge were topped by ornamental caps called “giboshu”, which became a symbol of the bridge. Traffic can be seen passing over the span.
Hiroshige depicts a group of people returning from their pilgrimage to a shrine on Mt. Oyama, a sacred mountain. They went on the pilgrimage after purifying themselves by absolution in the Sumida River at the eastern foot of Ryogoku Bridge, and they are carrying wooden swords with ornaments on top which they exchanged with other worshippers at the shrine.
Along the riverside is a bamboo market (“takegashi”) to which bamboo has been transported in floats from Boso Peninsula across Edo Bay. It is stored here by leaning it against a wall. The length of the bamboo in this print is exaggerated to some extent.
During the Edo period bamboo was extensively used; large pieces were, and to a certain extent still are, used for:
1. building materials
2. poles for carrying heavy weights, drying clothes and guiding boats
3. flagstaffs
4. water pipes
5. bamboo baskets, etc.
This market was capable of meeting the bamboo demand of Edo city. A boat carrying bamboo baskets is evidence that makers of bamboo wares lived in the district.