A catalogue of the Ashmolean’s collection of prints of Edo by Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858) by Oliver Impey (published Oxford, 1993).
It is a starlit evening on the Asakusa River. Hanging over the river in the foreground is the ‘Pine of Success’, a famous landmark in Edo, especially for those on their way to the Yoshiwara pleasure district. Behind the lowered blinds of the roofed pleasure boat beneath the tree, is the silhouette of a woman's head and shoulders. Two pairs of clogs rest in the bow of the boat, hinting at a tryst on board.
Impey, Oliver, Hiroshige's Views of Tokyo: A Selection from the Woodblock-Print Series ‘One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo’ by Ando Hiroshige, 1797-1858 (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1993), no. 11 onn p. 10, illus. p. 22 pl. 11
Yoshiwara
The Yoshiwara was the licensed pleasure district in Edo (Tokyo), where courtesans resided.
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