One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.54Outer Sakurada, Benkei moat and Kojimachi

In olden days, a paddy field stretched from Edo castle to the foot of Atagoyama hill to the south. It paddy field was crisscrossed with paths on which stood a great number of cherry trees (“sakura”). Thus, the paddy field was named Sakurada, or “cherry tree paddy field”. The field was divided by Sakurada gate into Soto (“outer”) Sakurada and Uchi (“inner”) Sakurada.
In this print, Hiroshige depicts a bird’s-eye view looking from the Sakurada Gate towards Kojimachi, which lay outside the inner moat of Edo castle.
This section of the inner moat which encircled the castle for protection was commonly called Benkeibori, which was named after Benkei, a Buddhist priest who was rather well-known as a character in the kabuki play “Kanjincho”. On a strong stone wall foundation, shown on the right of this print, was constructed a tall embankment covered with green grass on the side of which grew tall pine trees.
A large mansion with a red entrance and many tall trees in its grounds is a residence of an important lord. A road along the bank of the moat leads to Kojimachi.
Beside the road were several wells noted for their fresh water. One is seen in front of the mansion and another is further along the road, at a bend where a small hut stands. In the distance, at the far end of the moat, is Kojimachi, which was a residential district for warriors. The area was first developed in Edo city to accommodate houses for warriors by order of Iyeyasu Tokugawa, the founder of the Edo shogunate. Two fire watchtowers can be seen dominating the skyline, though the one in the far distance is slightly obscured.