One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.30Kameido Ume (Japanese apricot) Garden

In ancient days, the Japanese loved apricot blossoms more than cherry blossoms, which are more popular today. The apricot blossom is the first flower of spring and brings a touch of beauty to the dreary winter scenery. Many people value the beautiful fragrance and pure whiteness of the flowers.
To the northeast of Kameido Tenjin Shrine was a famous apricot blossom garden Kameido Umeyashiki which boasted innumerable apricot trees. Some of the trees were more than several hundred years old and the blossoms came into flower around the end of January and lasted well into March.
The garden was established with a tree that grew in an unusual way. It started growing normally, but at some stage during the maturation period, a fork of the trunk and/or branches would turn and grow back into the ground. Then these “trunks” would grow under the surface of the soil and every now and then put forth a branch up through the ground. This pattern would be repeated several times. This unusual growth pattern caused people not to be sure whether the “new” tree was actually a new tree or a “branch” from another tree. The shape of the branches looked like a dragon which was crawling along the ground, and so a famous lord visiting the garden, Mito Mitsukuni, a member of the Tokugawa family, named the tree garyubai, meaning “apricot tree in the shape of a crawling dragon”.
After this, the eighth shogun Yoshimune on his way back from hawking would smell the fragrance of the apricot blossoms and drop by the garden. He would also admire the unusual shape of the tree. Not surprisingly, the garden became a popular excursion destination for Edo people. In addition, visitors to nearby Kameido Tenjin Shrine never failed to visit.
Hiroshige depicts the apricot garden with numerous visitors still in heavy coats. They are amazed to see the branches of the apricot tree sticking out of the ground.
The Dutch impressionist Vincent van Gogh painted an oil based on this scenery.