Descending Geese at Nippori

Catalog note / 解説

The peaceful scene in this <i>uchiwa-e</i> (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is set in the Nippori district in the northern part of Edo. The view of geese descending over an expanse of rice paddies is taken from the eastern edge of the high ground extending from the Suwa Bluff to Mount Dokan. The latter takes its name from Ota Dokan (1432-1486), the medieval warlord who established an outpost here to protect the fortress he had built on what subsequently became the site of Edo Castle. Farmhouses and haystacks can be seen in the middle distance, while the mountains silhouetted on the horizon are those of the Nikko range, 200 kilometres to the north. The basket visible in the immediate fo…