An Eternal Summer Scene: “Fireworks at Ryōgoku”

“Fireworks at Ryōgoku” is the ninety-eighth print in Hiroshige’s Hundred Famous Views of Edo. The atmosphere of a summer evening in Edo is almost palpable, including the subdued nature of the fireworks compared to the colorful pyrotechnics of today.
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One Hundred Famous Views of Edo by Kichiya, the Ukiyo Photographer: Today’s Tokyo Through Hiroshige’s Eyes

Meisho Edo hyakkei, known in the West as One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, was one of ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige’s most celebrated works, influencing even Western artists like Van Gogh and Monet. Drawn in Hiroshige’s final years and published from 1856 to 1861, the series depicted the sights of Edo (as Tokyo was then known) through the changing seasons. Audiences around the world admired Hiroshige’s inventive use of bold compositions, bird’s-eye-view perspectives, and vivid colors. A century and a half later, “ukiyo photographer” Kichiya has set himself the task of recreating each of these views with a photograph taken in the same place, at the same time of year, from the same angle. Join us in this new series at Nippon.com on a tour of these “famous views” in Edo and modern-day Tokyo, guided by Kichiya’s artistry and his knowledge of old maps and life in Edo.

A Sentimental Farewell to Summer

Ryōgoku was a popular destination for Edoites seeking relief from the summer heat. During most of the year the restaurants around Ryōgoku Bridge had to close at sundown, but in the summer months they were allowed to remain open well into the night. They would even host pleasure cruises along the Sumida river on boats known as yakatabune. The kawa-biraki ceremony opening the river for the season was held on the last evening before summer and involved observances for the river deity and a fireworks display. Fireworks went up again at the height of summer, on the tenth evening of the seventh month, and a third and final time at the end of the eighth month to mark the river’s kawa-jimai, or closing. “Fireworks at Ryōgoku” is listed as an autumn piece, so presumably it depicts the last show of the year.

The print shows the view downstream from just above the western end of Ryōgoku Bridge. The bank in the distance was where the shogunate maintained its naval base, or ofunagura. It was known as Atake after the largest ship ever to be be moored there, the Atakemaru. Since the end of each lunar month was, by definition, the night before the new moon, the area must have been completely dark after nightfall, making the fireworks all the more beautiful.

I took my photograph during the Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival, shooting from upriver of Ryōgoku Bridge. The fireworks are launched some distance away, so I had to use a telephoto lens to get them in the same frame as the bridge. This also prevented me from including as much of the bridge’s length as the original print. On the other hand, the festive crowds are clearly visible. The festival today features fireworks of all colors, but I managed to capture one of the simpler bursts, closer in spirit to the ones Hiroshige would have seen.

Background Information about Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival

The tradition of summer fireworks at Ryōgoku lasted from 1733 to 1961, with only occasional interruptions. In 1978, it was relaunched as the Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival, which is currently held each year on the last Saturday in July. Around 20,000 fireworks in total are launched for the show, making it one of the largest fireworks displays in Tokyo.

tourism Tokyo ukiyo-e One Hundred Famous Views of Edo by Kichiya Kantō fireworks