One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.6Hatsune riding grounds at Bakuro cho

A leader of the bakuro (horse dealers) once lived in this district and thus in later years Bakuro-cho became the name of this place. In this district was a riding ground called Hatsune (depicted here), the oldest in Edo city. The name was derived from Hatsune Inari Shrine lying to the east of the grounds.
Before he founded the Tokugawa shogunate, Iyeyasu Tokugawa used the grounds for training his military forces, particularly his horses and riders. He gathered them here for inspection just before he proceeded to engage in and win the decisive battle against his enemy at Sekigahara in Mino Province in 1600.
At this end of the training grounds was a chief magistrate’s mansion which was not shown in this print. The chief magistrate carried out the orders of the shogun in the eight domains of the Kanto region which were under the direct control of the shogunate. Tradesmen and farmers in the region would sometimes come to Edo to file lawsuits, and these were dealt with in the chief magistrate’s office inside his mansion. A large concentration of lodging houses in this area, as shown on the right-hand side of the print, were able to accommodate many people coming for the lawsuits and for business. At the other end of the grounds stood a fire watchtower, which is depicted in the centre of this print. A hanging bell was installed in the tower to forewarn people of fire in the area.
Dye factories were located close to the training grounds. During Hiroshige’s time, the grounds were not frequently used by warriors for riding practice. So, the people from the dye factories often used the grounds for drying their products.
Small dogs, fearless of the warriors, can be seen playing on the grounds. The willow trees are shown with their new leaves just unfolding, which is an indication of spring.