Benkei Moat from Soto-Sakurada to Kojimachi

A blue moat bends broadly from the foreground into the distance at the center of the picture. Along the road in the left foreground, people with umbrellas walk together. On the left bank are a red gate and the white-walled residence of a daimyo, with a roofed well visible in front of the gate. The right bank has a green embankment rising on a stone wall, with pines spreading their branches. Further back, a fire-lookout tower peeks above the trees.

The blue of the moat and the green of the embankment take up most of the picture, while a red band of sunset and black cedar trees tighten the top. The curve of the water leads the eye into the distance in a calm composition.

Although the title refers to Benkei Moat, the print is believed actually to depict Sakurada Moat. The residence on the left is the upper residence of the Ii family of the Hikone domain, and the well in front of the gate is thought to be Sakura-no-i, known as a source of fine water. Four years after this print appeared, Ii Naosuke, the senior shogunal councilor, was attacked outside nearby Sakuradamon Gate. The area, with daimyo residences lining the moat, was close to the political center of Edo.

This print belongs to the summer section, and its censor's seal dates it to the fifth month of Ansei 3 (1856). Other pictures in the series of Edo Castle's moats and samurai residences include "Kasumigaseki" and "Hibiya and Soto-Sakurada from Yamashita-cho," which convey the orderly scenery of the castle town.