Enjoying a Cool Evening on the Sumida River

Object Details

• Artist

  Aoki Hodoh (1810-1872)

• Description

  This view looks northward toward the bridge; the pagoda of the famous Asakusa KannonTemple can be seen beyond the bridge on the west bank of the river. In the distance, Mount Fuji is faintly visible.

• Label

  The pleasures of a summer evening near the Ryogoku Bridge are recorded in this informal painting. The area around the Ryogoku Bridge was a popular site for entertainment in the thriving metropolis of Edo (modern Tokyo). In this view, which faces northward, the pagoda of the Asakusa Kannon temple (Sensoji) can be seen at left beyond the bridge on the west bank of the Sumida River. The artist has rendered the setting realistically, as if capturing an actual moment, while focusing in the foreground on the festive entertainment aboard pleasure boats. The painter Aoki Hodo was trained by Yamamoto Baiitsu (1783–1856), a leading artist of the Nanga school, whose adherents specialized in Chinese styles and themes. Here Hodo presents a scene of contemporary Japanese urban life with fluent virtuosity.

• Provenance

  Ishikawa Yurin (born 1871), Nagoya, Japan [1]

  To 1998

  David Newman, London, to 1998

  From 1998

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from David Newman in 1998

  Notes:

  [1] According to Curatorial Note 1, Ann Yonemura, July 9, 1998, in the object record.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Seasons: Arts of Japan (February 5, 2011 to January 13, 2013)

  Real and Imagined Places in Japanese Art (March 4 to October 21, 2001)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Ishikawa Yurin (born 1871)

  David Newman

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Name

  Newman, David, Yurin, Ishikawa

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Bridges, Boats and boating, Art, Temple, Mount Fuji, Japanese Art, Rivers, Kakemono

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings