Artist: Hiroshige
Medium: Original Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
Edition: Original
Date: 1857
Publisher: Shitaya Uo Ei
Reference No.: #46 - One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
Size: 14 -1/4 x 9 -1/2 "
Condition: Very fine
Notes:
This scene shows the Yoroi Ferry carrying passengers across the Nihonbashi River, standing on the Kayaba-cho side, looking across at the warehouses of Koami-cho, where rice, soy, and oil were stored. Swallows are seen in the summer sky, which is streaked with bright yellow. On the right is a young woman near the ferry landing, wearing a bold patterned dress, representative of the late Edo taste. An oarsman is seen sculling his small "chokibune" in the middle of the river and behind him to the right is a cargo boat filled with boxes marked "tea." The bow of the large ship at the left is one of the cargo ships that supplied Edo.
According to legend the Yoroi (Armor) Ferry owes its name to Minamoto Yoshiie, the same medieval warrior who hung his armor on a pine tree (see print 26 of the series). As the legend goes, he was setting out for Chiba when a great storm came up, so he sacrificed his suit of armor to the Dragon King of the sea and offered his helmet in a mound nearby, in the hope of victory against his enemies. Hence the present place name of Kabuto-cho, which today is in the location of the Tokyo Stock Market.