Author: Utagawa Hiroshige II (二代目広重).
Subject: Teppōzu Inari (鉄砲洲稲荷).
Series: Forty eight famous views of Edo (Edo meisho yonjū hakkei, 江戸名所四十八景).
Number: 31/48.
Genre: meisho-e (名所絵), fūkei-ga (風景画)
Size: medium (chūban, 中判).
Publisher: Tsutaya Kichizō (蔦屋吉蔵), here as Tsutakichihan (蔦吉版).
Period: c. 1861.
Trimmed: no
Backed: no
Code: UGHII01006
Condition: general conditions are good. Color has not faded and is still pretty
clear and vivid. There are no remarkable stains nor wrinkles. Few small holes on
the right border have been fixed, a sign that the print has probably been kept in
a a ring album.
The Teppōzu Inari Shrine is settled in the Minato ward (港区) of Tōkyō.
The word Teppōzu means rifle and it is said to has its origin in the rifle shaped
sandbars of the shore beside it, or because this was actually used as a firing test
area for the artillery.
Previously the shrine was named Minato Inari Jinja (港稲荷神社) and had inside a fujizuka
(富士塚), a mound resembling in shape the Mount Fuji, from where it is said a beautiful
view of the mount itself could be enjoyed.
Numerous ships used to transit through the port in Teppōzu, and passengers revered
to the Shrine asking for safety during their trip.