Ushimachi at Takanawa

At right the large wheel and shaft of a wooden ox cart loom close. Watermelon rinds and straw sandals lie on the ground, and a puppy has something in its mouth. Beyond them spread a stone-walled shore and Edo Bay, with sailing ships lined up offshore and a large rainbow arcing across the sky.

It is a bold composition that cuts off the foreground wheel large and shows the sea and sky beyond broadly. The pale colors of the rainbow, the indigo of the sea, and the gray of the beach convey the gentle light of the end of summer. The row of ships offshore is thought to be near the Odaiba batteries built in preparation for the Black Ships.

Ushimachi (Ox Town) at Takanawa is said to have been a town where owners of oxen summoned from Kamigata lived for the construction of Zojoji and Edo Castle in the early Edo period, and ox carts hauling heavy loads gathered there. It lay on the seaside along the Tokaido, and travelers heading to Shinagawa also passed through.

It is known as one of the series' most daring compositions. Its highlight is the device of conveying the atmosphere of a town where ox carts came and went through objects alone, such as a wheel, watermelon rinds, and a puppy, without drawing people.