Yoshitoshi 芳年: Imperial Carriage Crossing the Oi River for the Restoration of Imperial Rule Ceremony (Sold)

Artist: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 芳年 (1839-1892)Title: Picture of Landscape at the Ôi River on the Tokaido 東海道大井川風景之圖 Date: 1868, 8th monthFascinating “reportage” of the scene of the Imperial carriage crossing the Ôi River on the Tokaido in 1867, heading to Tokyo/Edo. The occasion was no less than the ceremony ”taisei hôkan” 大政奉還,  the restoration of the imperial rule–the transfer of the power from Tokugawa Bakufu, the shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, back to Emperor Kômei, whose death followed shortly after. The Meiji emperor succeeded subsequently. In the center of the procession in the river, we see the imperial carriage with a golden phoenix on the roof, hôren 鳳輦,  which is flanked by rows of soldiers, some carrying the red imperial flag with white chrysanthemum. We see the westernizing changes that are evident in the dress and weapons of the imperial guardsmen; many of them are wearing western jackets and hats and carry rifles instead of swords. They ford the river in orderly lines of formati