Ukiyo-e, 100 Famous Views of Edo, 124 Catalogue, Autumn Session I.

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Ukiyo-e series drawn by Hiroshige Ando in the Edo period,
100 Famous Views of Edo, the place where it was set
I asked him what was actually happening now.
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Please see the homepage for all the explanations.
I have been asked to visit the places where I love the 100 Famous Views of Edo, painted by Hiroshige Ando, to see what the scenes look like now, and to compare the old and the new.
In this catalogue, Hiroshige's works of 119 views will be grouped by season, and only the old and current views will be presented in digest form.
The fourth part of this series is part 1 of the Autumn section, which covers views 73 to 85.
073
The City Flourishing, Takabata Festival.
This painting is said to depict a view of Mount Fuji and Tanabata Festival decorations fluttering in summer from the clothesline of Hiroshige's house in Ohga-cho, where he lived in his later years. The painting seems to have been meant to support the recovery of the town of Edo from the Great Ansei Earthquake of the previous year. The location is now Kyobashi 1-chome, south of the Artizon Museum, where the Toda Corporation's head office building is under construction right in front of the building. So, I raised the perspective and included Mt Fuji in summer in the current town of Kyobashi.
074
Silk-goods Lane in Otenma-cho.
This is Nikko Kaido in Otenma-cho, which prospered from the Mikawa cotton industry and was lined with large shops. A group of carpenters are passing by the Daimaru kimono Shop in the middle of the street, dressed in formal attire and carrying a gohei (Shinto staff) on their shoulders, after completing the ridgepole-raising ceremony. The Daimaru kimono shop at that time has already moved and is now in the silver building on the left, and Nikko Kaido, which was the main street at that time, has moved to the north, so the street looks lonely.
075
Navy blue dyed town in Kanda.
In Kanda, there was a town where dyeing artisans gathered together and indigo-dyed fabric was hung out to dry, one by one, on a clothesline with an assembly of oars. This painting depicts the characteristic scenery of Kanda Konyacho, including Mt. Fuji, which is now a road leading to the Imagawa-bashi crossing but which cannot actually be seen beyond the high-rise buildings of Otemachi, to recreate Hiroshige's view.
076
Bamboo Yards at the Kyobashi Bridge.
This painting looks east from in front of the current Ginza 1-chome police box. At the time, bamboo wholesalers lined the north side of this Kyobashi River, and the people crossing the Kyobashi Bridge and the moon are depicted, emphasising the bamboo and the warping of the bridge. The people walking from right to left are people returning from a pilgrimage to Mt Oyama. Today, the Metropolitan Expressway runs over the Kyobashi River and it is hard to imagine that there was ever a bridge there. Today, only the stone parapet of the Kyobashi Bridge still adorns the side of the bridge.
077
Inaribashi Bridge and Minatojinja shrine at Teppozu.
This view is from around present-day Shinkawa 2-chome, looking along the Kyobashi River over the Kamejima River towards Hacchobori. The large wooden pillars are the sailing poles of boats that brought rice and sake from the Kansai region. Today, the red-walled Teppozu Inari has been relocated 100 metres to the south, and the Kyobashi River has been reclaimed to create a senior citizen facility and Sakuragawa Rooftop Park on top of it. I raised the viewpoint and made a picture with Mt Fuji in it.
078
Teppozu and Tsukiji Honganji Temple.
This is a view of the Tsukiji Honganji temple, known as Gomonzeki, from the Sumida River. The main building of Honganji was so large that most boats travelling in Edo Bay used it as a landmark to locate the temple. In the foreground, the Sumida River is depicted with benzai boats, fishing boats and fishermen. Today, the Hongwanji cannot be seen even through the gaps between the buildings in this photo taken from the top of the embankment on the Tsukishima side.
079
Shiba Shinmei Shrine and Zojoji Temple.
The painting looks west from around the present-day Daimon Station, with the red gate at the end of the stream at the far left being the Daimon Gate, with the main temple gate and the main hall slightly beyond it. The 'Shinden' style building on the right is the Shiba Shinmei-gu shrine, with a group of travellers from the suburbs in the foreground. Today, the large gate on the left has been reinforced and the Shinmei-gu Shrine is behind the Resona Bank on the right, but is not visible at all.
080
Kanasugibashi Bridge and Shibaura Inlet.
081
Ushimachi at Takanawa.
082
Moon-Viewing Point.
083
Shinagawa Susaki.
084
Grandpa's Teahouse at Meguro.
085
Kinokunizaka Hill and View of Akasaka Tameike Pond in the Distance.