Sagami Province: Entrance to the Caves at Enoshima

At the right of the picture rises the pine-covered cliff of Enoshima, and beneath it a large cave opens its mouth. This is the Iwaya. In front of the cliff spreads a flat rocky shelf, and at left a pointed rock stands. White wave crests swirl around the rocks, and the sea in the foreground is violently stormy.

At back left a calm sea spreads out, with a white-sailed ship floating on it. Beyond lie gray mountains and a white Fuji, and the low part of the sky is dyed red. The contrast between the wild waves and rocks in front and the quiet evening scene beyond is the highlight of this design.

Enoshima is a sacred site enshrining Benzaiten, and in the Edo period it drew many pilgrims as a pleasure destination close to Edo. The Iwaya at the south of the island is a cave regarded as where Enoshima's worship began, and pilgrims made their way along the rocks to pray inside.

Hiroshige drew Enoshima many times, but in this design he closes in on the Iwaya on the back side rather than showing the whole island. The rough waves, with their crests finely differentiated, also suggest the difficulty of the path to the cave. The impressions at the National Diet Library and the Tokyo National Museum have the same composition.