The Sazai Hall of the Temple of the Five Hundred Rakan

The lines of the floorboards on the veranda narrow toward the back, drawn so that they gather around Fuji. The people leaning on the railing all face in that direction, and some stretch out an arm and point at Fuji. Our eyes, too, are naturally led to the small Fuji at the center of the picture. In front of Fuji spread a flat lowland and the roofs of a village.

The company is varied: travelers admiring the view, women with their hair done up, children, and people sitting on the floor to rest. Ornaments like wind chimes hang from the eaves, conveying the leisurely time of people relaxing at a high place. The pillars and latticed windows of the hall at right are accurately drawn with fine lines, strengthening the feeling of looking out from inside the building.

The Gohyaku Rakanji temple was opened in 1695 (Genroku 8) in Honjo, now Oshima in Koto Ward. The Sanso-do hall in its precincts was a tall three-story hall, and because its spiral passageway resembles the shell of a turban snail (sazae) it was called the "Sazae-do." According to the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum, Fuji could be seen well from here across the Sumida River.