# The Monkey Bridge

**Katsushika Taito II** (Japanese, active c. 1810–50s)  
early 1830s  
color woodblock print  
26 x 23.5 cm (10 1/4 x 9 1/4 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1921.413. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1921.413).

## About this work

Taito II, who studied with Hokusai, created this image of the Monkey Bridge in Kai Province, west of Tokyo. By depicting the moon beneath the narrow bridge, he emphasized the height of the gorge. Before it was given to the museum by one of its founders, Jeptha H. Wade, this print was trimmed. Uncut versions of the same scene include a section with a poetic inscription designed to look like a rubbing from a stone stele, or commemorative marker, often erected in scenic locations. Ink was also applied differently to produce varying effects in other impressions.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Katsushika Taito II designed this in the early 1830s. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Colour woodblock print.** In Japan these were a team effort. The artist drew the design, a carver cut it into cherry-wood blocks, one block for each colour, and a printer brushed on the pigment and rubbed each sheet by hand. Full-colour prints of this kind were called nishiki-e, “brocade pictures”, from the 1760s on.

### [Katsushika Taito II](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/katsushika-taito-ii)

Japanese, active c. 1810–50s

## Facts

- Type: Print
- Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
- Real size: about 10 × 9½ in (26 × 24 cm). The 8 × 10 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Ukiyo-e](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/ukiyo-e)
- Colour: grey
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/505.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/505/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-monkey-bridge-cma-103360).