Hodogaya

Artist

Tamenobu Fujikawa (Japanese, active circa 1910-1920)

Date

1918

Medium

Woodblock print

Dimensions

Sheet : 9 9/16 x 14 in. (24.29 x 35.56 cm)

Credit Line

Hope College Collection

Object Number

2014.13.6

Label

Shinmachi Bridge led Tōkaidō travelers into the town of Hodogaya where many inns and restaurants offered rest and refreshment. In this print, the sight of other travelers walking across the bridge moves Yaji to tears as he recalls the death of his wife and contemplates the sad fact that—unlike regular travelers—her passage into the afterlife was a one-way journey. The image portrays Hodogaya as it might have looked in the early 19th century, surrounded by fertile agricultural fields. Today, Hodogaya has been subsumed into the bustling city of Yokohama.