ALLEN MEMORIAL ART MUSEUM 27 UtagawaHiroshige I 初代目歌川広重 (Japanese, 1797–1858) The Sagami River, no. 18 fromthe series Thirty-sixViews ofMt. Fuji, 1858 Color woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper MaryA. AinsworthBequest, 1950.1476 Mt. Fuji rises in the distance as two men use poles to steer large rafts of logs on the Sagami River, east of Edo. A plume of smoke comes from a fire contained in a brazier on the raft and protected with a small A-frame shelter. Having a fire on board could provide both heat and a place to cook a meal or boil water for tea. The image of a lone boatman piloting a raft down a river is so commonplace in landscape prints of the Edo period that it is easy to overlook. These rafts, however, were a crucial part of the lumber industry, moving timber from distant mountain forests to the brokers in the big cities. Although it may have been easier to float individual logs downstream, rafts could be controlled. They did less damage to riverbanks and river structures, as well as reduced losses from stranded logs or theft. UtagawaHiroshige I 初代目歌川広重 (Japanese, 1797–1858) Fukagawa Lumber Yards, no. 106 fromthe series OneHundredFamous Views of Edo, 1856 Color woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper MaryA. AinsworthBequest, 1950.1447 The lumber yards (kiba 木場) in Fukagawa, on the east side of the Sumida River in Edo, were home to nearly 500 different lumber brokers and a number of large wholesale guilds. Both the rough-hewn logs brought in and the processed lumber going out used Edo’s waterways for easy transport, so the riverside location of Fukagawa was ideal. In fact, much of the land here was reclaimed from swamps, and was built up as the lumber industry grew. The high water table had additional benefits: it was a check on termite nests, and the many waterways in the area acted as a firebreak to protect these valuable assets.
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