Daisho with a flood(?) theme - any better suggestions?

[Jesta]

I recently acquired this daisho set. I love the look, and the execution is excellent, but I am a bit stumped by the theme. It appears to show a flood (?) with the tori gate on the shoto, and the shrine on the daito submerged, while the bridges and trees remain above water. There are boats sailing by in the distance. 

 

My best guess is that this is the Great Kanto Flood of 1742, although I am not sure why a natural disaster would be a suitable theme for tsuba… 

 

Can anyone shed any light on this? Are there other examples of flood motifs?

 

 

[Geraint]

Dear Jusyn.

 

I am wondering if the treatment suggest mist partially obscuring the Torii and temple.  (I am having trouble with the angle of the torii, visually I find it disturbing!)

 

All the best.

[thutson]

I would second the idea that it depicts mist rather than a flood, although I can't explain the angle of the Toriii, which looks very odd.

 

Best,

Tom

[Matsunoki]

The angle of the Torii could be suggesting that it has been toppled in a flood. 
The presence of the two small sailboats suggests we are looking at water…..but the distant perspective is a bit confusing/challenging.

The fact that just some the treetops are “above water” is significant?
I’d vote flood but wouldn’t bet my home on it. 

[Jesta]

Mist would make sense, now that you suggest it. There is a different depiction of water under the bridge, so the softer lines could well be mist. 
I remain unsure about the Torii depiction, but the shrine roof is also at an angle, so it may be a stylistic choice for perspective…?

 

Mist would also make sense where the sails of the boats can be seen, but not the boats themselves, implying a kind of dreamy atmosphere where taller items like Torii, shrines, trees, and masts all poke their heads above the clouds. 

 

The signature is Gotō Etsujō (1642 - 1708) so it can’t be the 1742 flood, although there were certainly floods before that one… 

Edited April 30 by Jesta
Added some thoughts

[Bugyotsuji]

If it’s a flood, would it be a tsunami?

[Jesta]

1 hour ago, Bugyotsuji said:

If it’s a flood, would it be a tsunami?

Not necessarily, the Great Kanto Flood of 1742 was caused by massive amounts of rain falling from a pair of typhoons. This overloaded the rivers and caused their banks to break, flooding the area. 

 

[Matsunoki]

Looking again at the perspective. I believe the artist is asking us to stand on the high ground in the foreground and look down on the flood. The bridges could be across a raging river valley that is feeding down into the  flood. Mist does not explain the toppled Torii and the small boats appear to be fully visible and floating, not hidden.

Anyway, it’s thought provoking.

[Lewis B]

My first opinion is that it is at least a partial depiction of a flood event. The submersed Torii, tops of trees, what appear to be a pair of sails on one side of each tsuba etc. Any idea what the vertical poles with golden supporting elements represent?  I like the depictions and storytelling in these tsuba.