Senju Great Bridge

The Senju Great Bridge, with its row of wooden piers, crosses the lower part of the picture from right to left, and travelers and palanquins pass over it. On the far bank are the houses and trees of Senju, and the river bends broadly into the distance. White-sailed boats float on the water, and mountains can be seen on the far horizon.

The pale blue river, green banks, and house roofs are finely differentiated, and the high vantage point gathers a broad landscape into one view. The rose at the top of the sky and the pale tones beneath it convey the clear air of a fine morning.

The Senju Great Bridge is said to have been the first bridge built over the Sumida River, in the 3rd year of Bunroku (1594), and it stood at the entrance to Senju-juku, the first post town on the Nikko and Oshu Kaido highways. It was also from here that Matsuo Basho set out on his journey for "The Narrow Road to the Deep North."

Its censor's seal gives February 1856 (Ansei 3), making it one of the first five prints of the series to appear. Though placed in the winter section, it has no snow or other seasonal motif and is thought to take as its theme the bustle at the entrance to a post town. As a depiction of Edo's northern gateway, it conveys the atmosphere of a place of departures and arrivals.