The accompanying 1830s woodcut print depicts Shirahige-jinja Shrine nestling in a pine grove beside the upper reaches of the Sumida River. In the center of the print is an embankment where pilgrims would descend the stone stairway on the left to a torii gate and then pray at the modest shrine to the right. Through the pine trees on the left, the pagoda and roof of Asakusa Kannon Temple can be glimpsed in the distance. And on the left, rice paddies are depicted by a quickly sketched grid pattern.
The history of small and rustic Shirahige-jinja goes back to 951 A.D., when it was founded as a branch of the Shirahige Daimyojin shrine on Lake Biwa, east of Kyoto. It was reportedly established by Buddhist priest Jikei while on his journey to eastern Japan from Kyoto. The Lake Biwa basin had a large population of Korean immigrants who introduced Shirahige, their white bearded god of tutelary, to Japanese inhabitants who then spread the cult further afield.
Along the Sumida and its main tributary, the Arakawa River, there are many shrines dedicated to Shirahige. One of the major ones is Koma-jinja in Saitama Prefecture, a shrine whose origin can be traced back to the early eighth century. The wide distribution of this god indicates the pioneering instinct of the early Korean settlers and how they helped develop eastern Japan through their advanced skills in land reclamation and farming. Recently it has been suggested by many historians that these Korean settlers founded Asakusa Kannon Temple, one of Japan's most venerated places of worship.