Sake cup with maki-e design of plum garden

This garden existed on an estate called ‘Seiko-an’ in the Kameido district. The owner of the estate, Kiemon, was a landlord of the district. There used to be so many plum trees in his garden that it became known as ‘plum garden.’ The picture on the cup depicts people enjoying the view of the flowering plum trees in the foreground, Kiemon’s residence on the left and a small shrine on the right. Among these plum trees, Garyubai (Sleeping Dragon plum) shown in the center is particularly famous. This plum tree was also depicted in the Ukiyo-e artist Hiroshige’s masterpiece “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”.