One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.113Afui slope lying outside Toranomon Gate

There was a gate called Toranomon at the southeastern corner of the Edo castle grounds. When visitors from Korea brought a white tiger as a present to the shogun, the gate was not big enough to let the cage through and had to be rebuilt. After this incident, the gate became popularly known as Toranomon, literally “tiger gate”. Being located to the right of this view, it was not depicted in this print.
Outside of Toranomon gate was a moat whose water flowed from Tameike Pond. The latter was constructed as a part of the outer moat of Edo castle to protect it from enemy attack by a feudal lord loyal to Iyeyasu Tokugawa. In order to store water in the pond, he constructed a dam just outside the gate. Hiroshige has depicted the dam over which excess water flows into the moat.
From here, along the outer moat, was an ascending slope towards Akasaka Mitsuke (mitsuke means “lookout”). On the northern side of the slope were plants called “afui” (hollyhock), whose leaves were used for the Tokugawa family’s crest, thus the hill was named Afui Slope.
In the foreground, Hiroshige depicts two ascetics practicing certain rituals and wearing very few clothes. This scene is on a cold night and the waning moon and stars studded in the sky are supposed to emphasize the severe chill. The ascetic practice involves ceremonial cleansing in cold water at specially purified spots designated by shrines or temples. The practice lasted for one month during the coldest part of winter and was carried out by those who wished to have their desires fulfilled or to build up their physical strength. The two men have just come out of nearby Konpira shrine after praying to the god.
The man carrying a stall over his shoulder sells cups of hot buckwheat noodles to passersby. Another placed on the ground by the moat sells cups of hot noodles. Ironically, the two near-naked men are forced to walk past vendors selling hot food which might keep them warm.