One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.53Pagoda of Zojoji Temple and Akabane

The grand temple Zojoji, having been removed from the grounds of Edo castle as a sacrifice to expansion, was built in 1598. The religious sect of the temple was the Jodo sect of Buddhism, to which the Tokugawa family also belonged, and thus it became an object of reverence for the shogun’s family and was designated by Iyeyasu Tokugawa as his family temple. It had huge mausoleums for enshrining shoguns, their wives and their children.
In the grounds of the temple stood other huge wooden buildings such as a gate, a colourful five-storied pagoda and a bell tower, all of which were constructed by the Tokugawa shogunate as a memorial to deceased family members.
The pagoda was originally built to contain sacred items belonging to Buddha but later served to enhance the grandeur of the temple. In the foreground of this print, Hiroshige depicts the pagoda painted red.
A river originating from Naito Shinjuku flows through the south side of the temple grounds. This particular section is called Akabane River (the lower reaches of the Furukawa River), and the bridge spanning it was thus named Akabane Bridge.
On the opposite side lies a feudal lord’s mansion surrounded by a white wall. This mansion was noted for its unusually tall watchtower standing on a mound in the grounds. Its principal function was to closely watch for fires which might break out in the temple grounds.