One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.40Alongside a water channel, Haseo hermitage and camellia tree hill at Sekiguchi

Kanda water supply (alternately called the Kanda “River”), the first one constructed in Edo city, was drawn from the Inokashira Pond, located 16 km west of Edo city. It flowed in a northeasterly direction, collecting water from two small rivers on the way and finally reaching sekiguchi depicted in the print.
A stone wall (“seki”, meaning dam) was constructed here in 1657 for the purpose of raising the water level enough for a stream to branch off and supply water to the centre of Edo city, including Edo castle, Kanda and Nihonbashi. In this print the dam is not shown.
Cherry trees were planted along the channel and the area became a popular site for viewing cherry blossoms. In this print, several people can be seen walking on both sides of the channel enjoying the blossoms, some of which can be observed behind the large pine tree just to the right of centre.
On the right is Tsubakiyama (“camellia tree hill”), so-called because many camellia trees were planted there. Thy had red or white flowers which bloomed in winter or early spring. The tree was very popular and much-loved by Edo people in the early part of the 17th century, before cherry blossoms became more popular.
On the hillside stands a hermitage dedicated to the most famous haiku poet Japan has ever produced, Haseo (1644-1694), which is now pronounced Basho. The haiku is a 17-syllable poem. The poet, formerly a warrior, is said to have engaged in the repair of the dam from 1677 to 1680.
Basho was said to have loved the scenery in the area, as it was similar to that of Seta near Lake Biwa in Omi Province, which he had seen before. The bridge at Seta was one of the eight beauty spots around Lake Biwa. In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Basho’s death, the contemporary haiku poets of the day honoured the great poet by constructing the hermitage.