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Mokuboji Temple, Uchigawa Inlet, Gozensaihata, No. 92 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

Utagawa Hiroshige

Asian Art

Two well-dressed ladies disembark from the boat by which they have traveled up the Sumida River into the inlet known as Uchigawa. Their destination is one of Edo's famous suburban restaurants, seen in the upper right. Located within the precincts of Mokuboji Temple, which lies out of sight to the right, it specialized in dishes of taro and clams and was much prized among stylish residents of Edo. The area to the left with pines was known as Gozensaihata, or "The Honorable Vegetable Garden." Beginning in the 1650s, fresh vegetables for the shogun's table were produced there. It is unclear, however, if that practice still continued in Hiroshige's day.

MEDIUM Woodblock print
  • Place Made: Japan
  • DATES 8th month of 1857
    PERIOD Edo Period, Ansei Era
    DIMENSIONS Sheet: 14 3/16 x 9 1/4 in. (36 x 23.5 cm) Image: 13 3/8 x 8 3/4 in. (34 x 22.2 cm)  (show scale)
    MARKINGS No publisher's seal visible, probably lost when left margin was trimmed. Date seal and censor seal at top margin.
    SIGNATURE Hiroshige-ga
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 30.1478.92
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Anna Ferris
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Two ladies are seen alighting from the boat in Uchigawa Inlet on their way to one of Edo's famous suburban restaurants, known as Uehan (named after the owner, Uekiya Han'emon) which specialized in taro and clams. The nearby Mokuboji Temple, not shown here, originated in the year 976 when a young boy (Umewaka) was kidnapped by a slave trader when he lost his way on the road near Kyoto and was brought here, where he finally died of sickness and exhaustion on the banks of the Sumida River. A wandering priest erected a mound in his memory, which grew into the shrine-temple complex of Mokuboji. The mound survives today and services in his memory are held each year on April 15. The area on the left by the pine trees was known as Gozensaihata, or "the honorable vegetable garden," which produced fresh vegetables for the shogun's table. This area was obliterated by bombing during World War II; both sides of the Sumida have been leveled and construction has begun to provide high-rise housing and emergency evacuation in case of flood or earthquake. Mokuboji was relocated to a site closer to the Sumida in the middle of what was once the mouth of the Uchigawa Inlet.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797-1858). Mokuboji Temple, Uchigawa Inlet, Gozensaihata, No. 92 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 8th month of 1857. Woodblock print, Sheet: 14 3/16 x 9 1/4 in. (36 x 23.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.92 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 30.1478.92_PS20.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 30.1478.92_PS20.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2023
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