The 73rd scene from Utagawa Hiroshige’s “100 Famous Views of Edo” is “Haneta Ferry and Benten Shrine.” Here is the original painting.
This work depicts the southernmost point of the “100 Famous Views of Edo.” It features a whimsical composition by the master Hiroshige, showing Haneda Benzaiten viewed from atop a ferry on the Tama River at Haneda, through the boatman’s hairy shins. It’s a piece that makes you want to cry, thinking, “There’s no way I could ever recreate something like this!”
The photo doesn’t show Benten-sama—it’s actually Haneda Airport—and the view isn’t from the hairy shins of a ferryman, but rather through the saddle of a bicycle parked on the riverbank. I tried various shots looking toward Haneda from the embankment on the Kawasaki side at the mouth of the Tama River, but this was the best I could manage to make do. I’m really sorry.
I also considered including the large torii gate of Haneda Shrine in the composition instead of the Benzaiten statue—which no longer exists in Haneda—but even when I shot it with a telephoto lens, it didn’t quite capture the right atmosphere, so I couldn’t use that shot.
That aside, once you reach the mouth of the Tama River, the sky really does feel vast. On the opposite bank, I could see the monorail heading toward Haneda Airport Terminal 3.
Some people are cycling along the embankment, while others have gone down to the riverbank to enjoy fishing. It’s great to see everyone spending their day off however they please, but with the unrelenting sunshine and high temperatures as the rainy season draws to a close, I can’t help but worry a little: “Are they okay? Won’t they get heatstroke?”
This place is actually quite a distance from the nearest station, so I spent quite a bit of time the day before wondering how I was going to get there in this heat. Then, I suddenly had an idea and decided to give it a try—the bicycle shown in the photo at the beginning of this post… but I’ll save that story for next time.
This installment’s “100 Scenes” shooting location
