Summer- Moon at Ryōgoku Bridge c. 1834 - 1835

This is Utagawa Hiroshige’s woodblock print, made sometime in the first half of the 19th century. A pale moon dominates the composition, its ethereal glow casting shadows over Ryōgoku Bridge. The moon, an ancient symbol of cyclical time, feminine energy, and the subconscious, appears here much as it did in antiquity. Yet, its evocation is timeless: in ancient Sumerian art, the moon goddess Nanna was frequently depicted with a crescent moon, a motif echoing through centuries. The full moon here may trigger something deep in our psyche. Carl Jung might say this archetype transcends cultural boundaries. It’s an emblem of both serenity and latent madness, of shifting tides within the human spirit. Just like the ebb and flow of cultural memory, this symbol resurfaces, evolves, and takes on new meanings, yet its emotional core persists.