Tokyo Shinbashi: Railroad Prosperity and Distant View of Takanawa

The railway line between Shinbashi and Yokohama, which began operation in September 1872, is also depicted in many Ukiyoe of the Meiji era as a symbol of modernization and westernization. A closer look at the Takanawa Coast which forms the background to the steam locomotive’s arrival at Shimbashi Station reveals a sailing ship and a western-style steamship floating in Tokyo (then Edo) Bay. Added to the presence of the steam locomotive, these give the viewer a sense of the crossover of the era from Edo to Meiji. Looking back at an Ukiyoe of Takanawa completed in 1862, a mere 10 years previous, brings home the vibrancy, significance, and pace of the changes taking place in this new era known as Meiji.