The 31st scene of Utagawa Hiroshige’s “100 Famous Views of Edo” is Azuma Shrine Forest. The original picture is here.
The site is around Tachibana, Sumida-ku today. The area is said to have been a recreational area rich in elegance because there was a famous camphor tree in the Azuma Shrine in this area.
Since the approach to Azuma Shrine has become very small and the atmosphere has changed, I tried to capture the atmosphere of the original painting by using a grove of trees in nearby Tachibana Park as if they were trees along the approach to the shrine, looking over the Kitajukken River.
I can’t say that I have succeeded in making a good guess, but I hope you will “pull over” and look at it with your mind’s eye, and please forgive me.
Azuma Shrine is located about 200 meters west of the point in the photo. It is said that the shrine was originally dedicated to the relics of Princess Ototachibana, who sacrificed herself to quell a storm during the Japanese invasion of the east by the Japanese military leader Yamato Takeru- no-Mikoto. The legend says that the camphor tree was born from the chopsticks that were used by Takeru- no-Mikoto.
Is that why it is called Azuma (= my wife)? I wonder if the current name of the place, Tachibana, is also related to Princess Ototachibana.
The small approach to the present Azuma Shrine.
Unfortunately, the camphor tree at Renli died out during the Taisho era. Hmmm.
Well, this 31st view is very close to the famous Sanjyukkei Kameido Umeyashiki, and there are many other famous temples and shrines nearby, such as Kameido Tenjin, so there must have been quite a lot to see as a sightseeing spot. One of the famous temples and shrines is Katori Shrine, where I came across several subjects in the precincts that intrigued my photographic appetite. So I snapped a couple of pictures, even though they have nothing to do with “100 Famous Views”.
The reflection of light from the cobblestone pavement gives a powerful expression to the guardian dogs.
Vibrant gaku hydrangea.
A walk to take pictures on a rather hot day in mid-June. I’m not sure if it’s a good time to take a casual snapshot, but it’s getting tougher and tougher to take a stroll.
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