Sanno Festival Procession at Kojimachi Itchome

The left half of the picture is blocked by a float hung with a purple curtain. White rooster tail feathers peek out above it, and it is thought to be the float of the "admonitory drum rooster," showing a rooster perched on a drum. Below, flower-hat ornaments are visible. Further back, the procession climbs the embankment slope, another float appears small in the distance, and a blue moat spreads out in the foreground.

The contrast between the boldly cropped float and the tiny float in the distance invites the viewer to imagine the length of the procession. Deep purples and blues are brightened by yellow fan-shaped ornaments and the green embankment, conveying the splendor of the festival. The viewpoint, as though watching the procession from just behind the spectators, gives a strong sense of presence.

The Sanno Festival is the festival of Hie Shrine and, together with the Kanda Festival, was called a "Tenka Matsuri" (festival of the realm); its procession entered Edo Castle to be viewed by the shogun. Kojimachi Itchome lay along its route, and the procession heading toward Hanzomon is said to have paraded through the town. As the festival came the year after the earthquake, the print also suggests that vitality was returning to the city.

This print belongs to the summer section, and its censor's seal dates it to the seventh month of Ansei 3 (1856). Along with "The City Flourishing, Tanabata Festival" in the same series, it is one of the pictures that show Edo's festivals and events from an unexpected angle rather than head-on.