Night Rain on the Sumida River

Catalog note / 解説

The scene depicted in this <i>uchiwa-e</i> (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is set in a restaurant or similar establishment on the upper reaches of the Sumida river. The absence of light on most of the opposite bank tells us that we are looking east at the Mukojima district from the vicinity of the Massaki Shrine in the northern part of Edo's Imado Asakusa district. The woman with the lantern and umbrella is in the process of escorting the female guest on the bridge down a flight of steps to a boat waiting at the water's edge. The composition derives its particular appeal from the way in which the night view is framed within the geometry of an architectural structure partially cut off…