One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.61Asakusa River, Success telling pine tree and Onmaya Riverside

A section of the Sumida River near Asakusa town was called the Asakusa River. On the west bank stood 67 warehouses with nine piers in front. The warehouses were built by the shogunate to store rice, the most important staple food of the Japanese, paid as rent by peasants living in the land under the direct control of the shogunate.
A stable (“umaya”) lay to the north end of the warehouses to accommodate the horses and carts that delivered the rice to the shogunate at Edo castle or to the residential quarters of warriors in the city. As a result, the riverside (“kashi”) here was called Onmayagashi (see No. 105).
On the pier between No. 4 and No. 5 creeks was a pine tree with branches overhanging the river. People who were travelling by small boat (“choki”) to the licensed quarters, located to the north of Asakusa, passed by the tree. While looking at it, they wished that they would be successful in meeting a beautiful woman. On the way back from the quarters, seeing the tree again, they uttered to themselves the success of their encounter with the woman. The tree thus was named “success telling pine tree”.
In the foreground of this print, Hiroshige has drawn a roofed boat with a reed screen lowered to hide passengers, instead of the small boat mentioned above.
As both banks of the river in this section abounded in scenic places, feudal lords and wealthy tradesmen would hire roofed boats to enjoy the views while eating food and drinking sake served by beautiful geisha. The boats were also hired for the purpose of enjoying the cool breezes of the evening on the river and viewing cherry blossoms and the moon.
Three ferryboats with passengers aboard can be seen crossing the river upstream, where a ferry service was available. Under the dark sky studded with numerous stars, a passenger on a small boat seen behind the roofed one seems to be hurrying to the quarters.