One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.44A rough sketch of Nihonbashi Tori one chome

Nihonbashi (“bashi” means bridge) was the starting point of the Tokaido Highway, which ended in Kyoto and was at the time the busiest thoroughfare in the world.
The first 100-metre section of the highway was called Nihonbashi Tori-itchome and was lined with various shops and stores. They were mostly run by merchants from Omi and Ise provinces and the capital, Kyoto, and sold various products of their homelands.
The first store on the right in this print, which stood at the northeastern corner of a crossroad, sold dry goods and fancy goods such as fans, combs, ornamental bodkins, hairpins and cosmetics under the name Shirokiya. The store had remained a family enterprise for many generations until recently, when it was bought up by another shop.
Running through the heart of Edo city, the street was used by various kinds of people. In front of the above-mentioned store is a vendor of Oriental melons who has displayed the fruit on the side of the street, a countryman who is eating sliced melon and a deliveryman holding four boxes of Japanese buckwheat noodles over his shoulder.
A group of street performers from Osaka who were famous for dancing humorously to the accompaniment of vigorous music is moving northward under a showy umbrella on their way to give a performance at Asakusa, one of the amusement centres in Edo city.
A female minstrel with a samisen (three-stringed Japanese banjo) over her shoulder is walking alone behind the group. It seems very hot on the street, as everybody is either wearing a hat or carrying an umbrella to protect themselves against the sun.