Shinagawa Susaki, No. 83 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

In contrast with the subtleties of the preceding work is the straightforward topographical view in this print. The brightly lit second-story room to the lower left is in one of the same Shinagawa brothels. The center of attention, however, is the small shrine nestled among the pine trees and accented by its bright red torii (gate) and lantern. Dedicated to Benten, the goddess of water, music, and literature, this shrine was known as Susaki because of its location at the end of a narrow spit of land, or susaki, that extended out from the mouth of the Meguro River here where it emptied into Edo Bay. The symbolic function of a Benten shrine as protector of rivers is nicely expressed in this view.