Yoroi Ferry, Koami-cho

On the bank at front right a woman with a parasol stands seen from behind. In the middle of the river a boatman poles a small boat forward, and beyond it float other boats with passengers and cargo boats. At left the bow of a large boat juts out, and on the far bank rows of white-walled storehouses line up. Swallows fly in the sky and yellow clouds trail.

The perspective in which the triangular roofs of the white-walled storehouses shrink as they continue toward the back gives the picture strong depth. The indigo lattice of the woman's kimono and her obi with a vermilion swirl pattern are eye-catching accents of color in the foreground.

The Yoroi Ferry was a ferry crossing the Nihonbashi River that linked Koami-cho and Kayabacho on the opposite bank, and its name is said to derive from the legend that Minamoto no Yoshiie sank his armor to calm a storm. On the Koami-cho riverbank stood storehouses for rice, salt, sake and other goods carried by boat, supporting Edo's distribution.

This print belongs to the Summer section. The composition that places a figure large in the foreground and spreads the townscape beyond her shows well this series' character of catching a moment of daily life.