21. Mount Atago in Shiba 1857

Utagawa Hiroshige created this print of Mount Atago in Shiba. It captures a festival, framed by the red gate of a shrine. A figure stands prominently, adorned in traditional garb and holding a massive, golden spoon. This spoon is no mere utensil, but a ritual object. It’s reminiscent of similar ceremonial implements used across cultures, symbolizing nourishment, provision, and spiritual cleansing. Think of the aspergillum in Christian rites, or the vessels used in ancient Greek libations; the form shifts, but the underlying need to mediate between the earthly and the divine remains. The enduring need for ritual and symbolism taps into our collective unconscious, a deep well of shared human experience. The spoon, in this context, becomes a potent symbol, resonating with primal urges for sustenance and connection. It is a testament to how cultural memory informs and shapes our visual world, endlessly re-emerging.