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"This view is from the west bank ... where the Ayase River flows into the Sumida. This
is the midpoint in a broad curve in the river after it passes under Senju Bridge. This
in effect marks the begining of the Sumida River, which above this point (to the left)
was known as the Arakawa... This isolated site was known for the planting of silk trees (nemunoki), a kind of mimosa, along the bank. Hiroshige has framed his view with one of the trees ... Below, reeds spring from among rotting pilings. Beyond, a boatman, whose surprisingly bold garment echoes the pattern of the blossoms, stands immobile on his log raft, fixing his pole in the water and his gaze on the distant shore. A heron rises from the reeds; the prow of an anchored fishing boat peeks in from the left ...". (Henry D. Smith II, excerpt from the Brooklyn Museum publication below). Reference: Braziller, "Hiroshige - One hundred Views of Edo"; Brooklyn Museum, 1986; no. #63, with a detailed description of the scenery. |