The 1830s woodcut prints by Hasegawa Settan depict an amazing panorama of Edo as seen looking southeast from Edo Castle. The unobstructed view must have been the one the shogun enjoyed from his castle in what is now the Imperial Palace's East Garden, introduced in this column last month.
Blessed by the rising sun, we see in these prints the city of the shogun awakening to start another day of dynamic activity. Large cargo vessels enter Edo Bay from all directions. Swarms of small boats, looking like ants, busily ply the rivers and canals. The various towns arranged in orderly squares are packed with buildings, and streets bustle with people.
Across the whole stretch of land reclaimed from the sea, a stream runs curving to the right. This is the Nihonbashi River, which as explained last month, was originally called the Hirakawa River. It joins another, bigger river, the Sumida, flowing in from the left. At the river's mouth, the Eitaibashi Bridge arches over to Fukagawa. The two islands near the bridge are Ishikawa Island and Tsukuda Island.