Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2012

Did 19th century print master Kuniyoshi Utagawa prophecy the building of the Tokyo Sky Tree? A strikingly similar-looking tower—not known to have actually existed—is depicted in a ukiyo-e print he created in 1831 titled Toto Mitsumata no Zu (View of Tokyo’s Mitsumata). The work is on show in a new exhibition celebrating the opening of the Sky Tree at the Ota museum in Harajuku. Also on display are ukiyo-e masterpieces depicting favorite viewing spots of the times, and how Tokyo might have looked if seen from the Sky Tree in the 19th century.

Ukiyo-e Ota Memorial Museum of Art, until May 27 (listing).