Naito Shinjuku, Yotsuya, No. 86 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

Why would the artist choose such an odd vantage point? The lowness of the subject matter, apart from the hind view, is important in considering this print in context; it is an appropriate expression of the place: Naitō Shinjuku, near Yotsuya Gate, the western entrance to Edo. Founded in 1698, this quarter was intended from the start as a semiofficial center of prostitution and the first stop along Kōshū Highway out of Edo. The prostitutes at this down-to-earth settlement were described as "flowers blooming in the horse droppings of Yotsuya." Hiroshige pays close attention to the placement of the objects on the ground, from the straw-sandaled legs of the two horses and their groom to the five separate balls of manure.