#080 Shiba-Shinmei Zojoji temple

The 80th scene of Utagawa Hiroshige’s “100 Famous Views of Edo” features Shiba Shinmei Zojoji Temple. The original pincture is here.

The nightmarishly hot summer has passed, and it’s finally the season for taking photos while walking around.

The Zojoji Temple area appears quite frequently as a subject in the “100 Views”. This particular painting seems to have a composition where the main temple gate is viewed deep to the left. Following the title, if you move back to the Shiba Shinmei Street area, you’ll now see the new sub gate just before the main gate. Oh well.

This area has completely transformed into Minato Ward’s office district, but the Shiba Shinmei Shopping Street remains strong.

Shiba Daijingu, the shrine that gave Shiba Shinmei its old name, was also bustling.

During the Edo period, the “Me-gumi” fire brigade apparently had their headquarters around here. This area was also famous for the “Me-gumi Brawl,” a riot that started with a quarrel within the grounds of Shinmei Shrine and involved the Me-gumi firemen and Sumo wrestlers, resulting in 36 arrests.

The modern shopping district seems to have turned even the rough-and-tumble “Me-gumi” into cute characters (lol).

Well, since I’ve made it this far after so long, I suppose I’ll have some special hot cuisine for lunch at well known Mihosai restaurant. As I get older, I’m becoming less tolerant of spicy food, so my visits to Mihosai might be counting down soon.