Comment - Four ladies playing hanetsuki on Yanagibashi Bridge around New Year. Thus a part of a kadomatsu is to be seen on the right side in front of the framing buildings on the right side of the print. The last bridge before the Kanda river merges into Sumida is called Yanagibashi, meaning the willow bridge.
The hanetsuki serving lady is turning up her hagoita rack to reach out for the feathered shuttlecock. In doing so, she hits a pedestrian in a formal black Western suit under his chin, who then loses his black top hat and white walking stick. All the ladies and a passer-by in the background are grinning or smiling. A gas lantern is framing the left side. A technical novelty at those times, thus an exemplary of this woodblock is also to be seen in nowadays Tokyo Gas Museum. A small rowing boat with two passengers is passing the bridge. The distant shore shows green willows and a big pine. A reddish bokashi shading behind the willows and the pine hints at near sundown, the elaborte blue bokashi shading he upper sky at the top of the print confirms this impression. Several kites are roaming the sky. A yakko kite ("yakko dako", "奴凧") or man kite is to be seen on the left, and additional three edo kites ("edo tako", "江戸凧") are floating in the soft evening breeze, the tails of the edo kites hang down a little limp, hinting at those slow wind conditions. The left edo kite is an "Kanji kite" ("ji tako", "字凧") the one to the right has a classical design with the Japanese flag.

The series title is written in the vertical rectangular red cartouche upper right, the title of the print is written in the adjacent squared box in kanji (large)and hiragana (small) characters.


Series -  "Tōkyō's Funny Famous Places"  (Tōkyō kokkei meisho, 東京滑稽名所); compare "Bewilderment by a Kite at Ryogoku Hirokoji Plaza"  from the same series


Artist - see Biography


Signature -  "Hiroshige hitsu" ("広重筆") in red cassette at lower left;  yellowish carvers seal adjacent (Hori e Muneoka, 彫エ 宗岡)


Publisher - KOBAYASHI Tetsujiro Publishers (小林鉄次郎) left margin, including date and address as well as circular seal lower right


Image Size -   24.4 x 37.3 cm ( 9 4/7 x 14 6/9")


Condition - Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper, single sheet, Vertical ôban; Tate-e (portrait);