Yanagishima

A roofed boat passes along the river in the foreground, and on the left bank stand Myoken Hall, enclosed by a red wall, and a two-story restaurant. Beyond the restaurant a wooden bridge spans the water, with people crossing. Past the river an embankment lined with pines and wide fields continue, and on the horizon Mount Tsukuba with its two peaks appears hazy.

From the viewpoint looking down, the finely drawn buildings at the water's edge in the foreground are clearly separated from the flat countryside behind. The blue of the river, the red of the wall and the gray-green of the fields layer as bands across the picture, and the indigo gradation at the top of the sky tightens the whole. Distant Mount Tsukuba gives the flat scenery a single focal point.

Myoken Hall at Yanagishima enshrines the Myoken Bodhisattva of Hosshoji Temple, drew the devotion of Edo's people, and Katsushika Hokusai is also said to have been a devout believer. The restaurant Hashimoto in front of the gate was known for its rooms overlooking the river, visited by people who enjoyed both worship and boating.

This print belongs to the Spring section. In gathering a riverside famous place where worship and recreation overlapped, along with wide fields and a distant mountain, into one picture, one can feel the breadth of Edo's eastern suburbs.