View of Kada Bay

Catalog note / 解説

This 'uchiwa-e' (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige shows women and children collecting shellfish. The tranquil view is set on the coast north-west of Wakayama. The gatelike structure and buildings you can see on the left are those of the Awashima Shrine. On the horizon you can just make out the coastline of Awaji Island ten kilometres to the west across the Tomogashima Straits. Kada Bay and the Awashima Shrine lay on the route between two great religious centres. These were Mount Koya in eastern Wakayama Prefecture and the Kotohira Shrine on the island of Shikoku. Awashima Shrine was a focus of pilgrimage in its own right. Its deity was supposed to be able to cure female ailments. Materi…