Benten Shrine and Inokashira Pond

At the bottom of the picture are the Benten shrine on an island in the pond and the bridge crossing to it. Pines with fine branches grow thick around the shrine, and worshippers can also be seen. Beyond it continue a broad pond thick with reeds and water plants and a forest of pines, and under the sky a far range of mountains overlaps in blue.

The calm palette centers on pale green and light blue, and the horizontally overlapping shores and woods convey the size of the pond spreading into the distance. The shrine is placed small at the bottom of the picture to show the breadth of the scenery.

Inokashira Pond was the source of the Kanda Josui waterworks and a vital pond supplying drinking water to the people of Edo. The pond's Benten had long drawn faith and was also a leisure destination, a full-day trip from Edo. Water overflowing from the pond was sent to the city of Edo as the Kanda Josui and filled the wells of many households.

It is one of the places farthest from the center of Edo in the series. It is an early print of the fourth month of Ansei 3 and belongs to the autumn section, though the expression of season is restrained. The choice of a source-water pond also suggests an interest in the water that supported life in Edo.