Picture of Twilight at the Drum Bridge in Meguro, from the series 100 Views of Famous Places in Edo 1857

Utagawa Hiroshige made this woodblock print, “Picture of Twilight at the Drum Bridge in Meguro,” as part of his series "100 Views of Famous Places in Edo." In nineteenth-century Japan, the urban population of Edo, today’s Tokyo, grew exponentially. As it did, so did the demand for art that depicted the sights and scenes of everyday life. Woodblock prints like this one served as a kind of popular media, a way for city dwellers to explore and celebrate their surroundings. Here, Hiroshige captures a winter scene, the landscape blanketed in snow. The Drum Bridge, with its arched form, is a striking feature, and we see figures crossing it, their umbrellas providing a splash of color against the monochrome palette. This print is more than just a pretty picture. It's a window into the social and cultural life of Edo, reflecting a growing interest in leisure and travel among the merchant classes. To understand it better, we might look at guidebooks and travelogues from the period, gaining insight into how people experienced these places. Ultimately, the meaning of this art is tied to its historical moment.