FAQ
65. Inside Kameido Tenjin Shrine (Kameido Tenjin Keidai) (7th Month, 1856)
30.1478.65
The arched bridge in the distance would have immediately identified this site for an Edo viewer as Kameido Tenjin Shrine, on the eastern fringe of Edo. The shrine was dedicated in the early 1660s as a part of the campaign to open the east bank of the Sumida for urban settlement in the wake of the devastating Meireki fire of 1657. The dedication to Tenjin, the deified Sugawara Michizane (845–903), patron saint of learning and calligraphy, is said to have been inspired by the personal veneration of the shogun Ietsuna (1641–80). This print features a curious printing slip in the extension of the blue of the pond into the sky region beneath the bridge. The error was corrected in later impressions.
Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum