Sanjo Bridge

Tanaka Honen painted this scene from the classical age of the Japanese court (around the 12th century) in the early 20th century. Courtiers, their servants, and carts are returning home from picnicking amid the cherry blossoms by crossing the famous Sanjō Bridge in Kyoto, depicted here from a severe perspective. The blue Kamo River flows diagonally through the composition, bordered by a spit of land rendered with gold leaf.