One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.108Scenery at Shiba seashore

The seashore south of Edo city was called Shibaura. Along the shore was a magnificent palace on land encircled by a strong stone wall. This was a summer resort for Tokugawa shoguns. When it was hot in summer, they retired here from the castle to enjoy cool breezes blowing in from the sea. Small ponds and streams of seawater were incorporated into the overall design of the gardens within the palace grounds. Several tea ceremony houses and small Buddhist temples were also established in the grounds.
Just off the seashore was a very good fishing ground where a variety of fish could be caught, the best of which was whitebait. At the request of shogun officials, the fish were taken to the office of the shogun every year. In return, the fisherman were given the right to catch fish in the area. Edo people named fish caught here Shiba fish or Edomae fish, and enjoyed all the delicacies which the fishing ground had to offer.
The wooden poles standing in the sea on the left side of the print are water-level indicators. The sea was so shallow in this vicinity that it was necessary to warn passing boats of its depth. Behind the poles, Hiroshige again depicted batteries built by the shogunate in the sea off the shore of Shinagawa station in 1854 to defend Edo city from an attack by the United States naval squadron. The print also shows a flock of seagulls, which were to be found frequently around this part of the coast.
Along the coastline, extending from right to left behind the palace grounds, runs the Tokaido Highway leading to Kyoto.