Famous Sites of the Sumida River

This painting depicts the east bank of the Sumida River, from Sekiya no Sato to the area before Azuma Bridge, and the west bank, from around Massaki Inari Shrine at Hashiba to the daimyo villas in front of the Asakusa official storehouses. Probably this scroll was originally part of a set of three scrolls, with one scroll depicting the west bank from Yanagi Bridge and Ryogoku, and another scroll depicting the east bank of the lower courses of the river from Azuma Bridge. This painting shows the Asakusa Observatory, built in 1782, and does not depict the Shubi no matsu pine tree, which was knocked over by wind in the An’ei era (1772-80) and then replanted. Thus this work is thought to date from around the end of the 18th century, sometime after 1782. The scroll bears a “Sumiyoshi / no To” seal at its end, thus suggesting that the work was painted by a Sumiyoshi school painter.