瀬田の橋　石山寺

About this print

This picture shows the Seta Karahashi Bridge and Ishiyamadera temple in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture. It comes from the second part of Tokaido Fukei Zue (Illustrated Scenery of the Tokaido), a picture book illustrated by the first Utagawa Hiroshige. The records give no date, but the book is said to have come out in 1851 (Kaei 4). It is not a single-sheet nishiki-e but an illustration in a bound book, printed in black ink and pale blue and green. In this book, the names of post towns and short notes on famous places are paired with old waka poems and hokku verses. On this site, we have placed it in the Nishiki-e Gallery alongside the prints.

The Seta Karahashi crosses the Seta River, which flows out of Lake Biwa, and it appears even in the Nihon Shoki, one of Japan's oldest chronicles. It was a key point for travel and for war on the way to Kyoto, and people even said, "Whoever controls the Karahashi controls the country." Ishiyamadera, a little way downstream, is said to have been founded by Roben in 747. It is also known for the story that Murasaki Shikibu began writing The Tale of Genji here.

The present bridge was built in 1979, and its gentle arch and giboshi, the onion-shaped caps on the railing posts, echo its old form. The main hall and the Tahoto pagoda of Ishiyamadera are National Treasures.

Glossary