Wild Geese on Sumida River

#ukiyo-e #wildgeese #sumidariver

Amongst the Edo Ukiyo-e artists there was a proud tradition of promoting local views and landscapes from the Kanto region as being just as important as the Eight Views of Omi or Fuji and views of famous temples faraway.

Here's one example:

Here are geese descending to open fields on the banks of the Sumida river.

It's hard to believe there were ever open fields anywhere in what is now the Tokyo metropolitan area but in the late 18th century and early 19th there still were trees and wetlands and no smog.

The Combination of Geese descending and the River is a reference on a earlier famous print and other paintings and prints on the same theme called Wild Geese Descending at Katata.