The woodblock print shown above, currently on display in a Japanese exhibition, has generated some excitement because of the tower shown at the left of the image.
The "Toto Mitsumata no Zu" (the view of Tokyo's Mitsumata area) was created around 1831 by Kuniyoshi Utagawa (1798-1861), one of the leading ukiyo-e artists of the late Edo period...
The left side of the work shows two thin, high-rise buildings looking down on the town of old Tokyo across the river. The one on the far left is believed to be a fire-watch tower. However, experts say no building as tall as the mysterious one next to it existed back in those days...
"Back then, there were rules that prohibited people from constructing a building taller than Edo Castle," museum director Fumio Saito explained, adding, "The tower in the picture is looking down on the town of Edo (today's Tokyo), and it is surprising to see the artist's extraordinary creativity. It looks as if he had predicted the construction of Tokyo Sky Tree [left] in the area."
Via Neatorama and Metafilter. Image sources for print and Sky Tree.
First went up Tokyo Tower in September of 1961 while serving in the Army--as a matter of fact, I had my first ever dish of curry rice in a restaurant in the base of the tower that day. My wife, daughter, and I celebrated New Year's 1999 with a visit to Tokyo Tower which was in walking distance of our apartment in Nishi Azabu. On a clear day the view from the tower is exceptional. Unfortunately, clear days in Tokyo were also exceptional.
ReplyDeleteThat picture gives me goosebumps! How eerie.
ReplyDelete--Swift Loris
...of the architect of the Sky Tree had seen the print...
ReplyDeleteSelf fulfilling prophecy.
ReplyDelete