One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.28Gotenyama Hill at Shinagawa

The hill called Gotenyama was situated at the southeast edge of Yodobashi terrace, very close to Edo Bay. The Tokaido Highway ran from north to south between the hill and Edo Bay. Shinagawa station, the first station on the highway from Edo, was also located at the foot of Gotenyama hill.
The third Tokugawa shogun, who used to come to this area on the terrace for hawking, built a palace (goten) here as a resting place. The area was accordingly called Gotenyama. However, after the palace was burnt down in later years, the eighth shogun, with the aim of turning it into an excursion resort for Edo people, ordered young cherry trees to be brought in from Yoshino. Located in Yamato Province, Yoshino was noted for its beautiful cherry blossoms and many of its finest young trees were planted at this site. In addition, the ground was turfed, thus making it a beautiful but also a convenient and comfortable place to spread a mat, sit and appreciate the cherry blossoms. Furthermore, the hill which overlooked the sea to the east presented a beautiful view.
This site was only 8 km from Nihonbashi, the centre of Edo city, and was convenient for Edo people to make leisurely one-day excursions. During the cherry blossom season, as shown in this print, a big crowd could gather there from all parts of the city. Some people would spread their mats, stretch a curtain around it and have a feast inside while drinking, dancing and singing. In this print, cherry blossoms on the hill are at their peak and a large crowd of people can be seen enjoying the beautiful view.
As one can see, the edge of the hill looks like a precipice. This is due to the fact that by order of the shogunate, this part of the hill was destroyed and the earth was conveyed to the sea off the shore of Shinagawa station to build six gun batteries (daiba) to defend Edo city in 1854 from the attack of the U.S. fleet led by Commodore Matthew Perry (see No .81, No. 108).