Shitaya Hirokoji

At front right is a large drapery shop, with navy and red noren curtains dyed with round marks. Left of center a group of women with parasols of the same pattern move toward the back. Beyond the passersby rows of houses continue, and at back left the woods of Ueno hill can be seen.

The line of red patterns on the parasols makes a vivid stream against the gray street. The viewpoint looking down at an angle takes in the breadth of the avenue and the woods beyond in a single picture.

Shitaya Hirokoji was a street widened to stop the spread of fire, and it was also the route by which the shogun traveled to Kan'eiji at Ueno. Matsuzakaya, facing the street, was a drapery store run by the Ito family of Nagoya and was known as a major shop in Edo too.

This is the thirteenth print of the Spring section. The group of women with matching parasols is said to be a party heading out for blossom viewing or worship, and is thought to indicate the spring excursion season. The censor's seal dates it to September 1856 (Ansei 3). The composition that draws the front of a large shop big is shared with the Suruga-cho print and conveys the prosperity of Edo's merchant houses. Even the marks on the drapery shop's curtains are drawn in detail, showing that a real shop was depicted.