The Beauty of the Floating World in Edo

　Several important festivals celebrated throughout East Asia take place during this summertime exhibition, including Dragon Boat Festival and Star Festival (which is known as Tanabata in Japanese and Qixi in Mandarin). While these festivals share the same names across East Asia, Japan has developed its own unique ways of celebrating them. The items on exhibit primarily showcase how Edo’s denizens lived in the summer. This exhibition is being held at the same time as Taiwan celebrates summer vacation, as well as during the observance of a local Taiwanese tradition, Ghost Month. To highlight the unique traits of the summer season, we’ve specially selected items for exhibit that are thematically related to these festivals and customs.

　In addition to depicting summertime activities, the exhibited works also feature themes such as the beautiful women of Edo, kabuki theater, and popular landmarks like the Nihonbashi Bridge, offering a glimpse at different facets of the leisure and entertainment options once enjoyed by the city’s residents. Through these works, the exhibition brings Edo’s summer scenery to life.

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  One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Sudden Shower over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake

  1857
  Utagawa Hiroshige
  National Palace Museum

  A sudden shower caught pedestrians on the bridge off guard, prompting them to hastily open their umbrellas or drape on raincoats while quickening their pace. From a compositional perspective, the elements—including the foreground of the bridge surface, the distant banks of the Sumida River, and the boats navigating the water—are all structured diagonally, mirroring the slanted streaks of rain and imbuing the scene with a dynamic sense of immediacy. Furthermore, the blurring effect caused by the downpour renders the buildings on the opposite shore nearly indistinct against the background, vividly capturing the fleeting moment of the rainstorm's sudden arrival. Such a striking composition must have left a profound impression on Van Gogh, who, during his artistic career, created a study of this piece, leaving behind brushstrokes that reflect his admiration for it.

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  One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Fireworks at Ryōgoku

  1858
  Utagawa Hiroshige
  National Palace Museum

  In the night sky, a burst of fireworks swiftly ascends before exploding in full brilliance! Compared to most artworks depicting Ryōgoku Fireworks, this piece features noticeably fewer boats on the Sumida River, emphasizing not only the dazzling display of the fireworks but also creating a more poetic atmosphere. This work is considered Hiroshige's most famous depiction of "Fireworks at Ryōgoku Bridge."

  Many of Hiroshige's works were sometimes redesigned and republished after their initial release, a process known as "variant editions" (変異版, hen'iban). This piece is one such example. The version housed in the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum presents a brighter glow surrounding the fireworks, while the version in the Kubosō Memorial Museum of Arts depicts the fireworks sparkling against a deeper, more profound night sky. Although visually distinct, both versions leave viewers with a lasting impression of the breathtaking beauty of fireworks illuminating the heights of the night sky.