One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.63Ayase River and Kanegafuchi Depth

The Sumida River, which flowed from west to east, turned south in the northeastern part of Edo city and ran through it before emptying into Edo bay.
The place where the Ayase River flowed into the turning point of the Sumida River was called Kanegafuchi, literally meaning “the bell depths”. The name was derived from a legend which said that in ancient times, a temple bell (“kane”) that was being transported by boat dropped into the river and has remained there ever since. Nobody has successfully recovered the bell because waterweeds have overgrown it extensively, preventing it from being raised. Another supposed reason is that a god of the water living in the riverbed was reluctant to part with the bell.
The mouth of the Ayase River is seen in the centre of this print. No bridge was available at this point, and people had to cross the Sumida River by ferryboat. When the tide in Edo Bay was high, it flowed up as far as this point. Thus, the ferry was named, Shioiri no Watashi, meaning “the tide coming in ferry”.
A man wearing a sedge hat is poling a raft made of logs. During the Edo period, rafts of this kind were used to transport goods across rivers.
The tree in the foreground is a silk tree which has small leaves known to “sleep” by folding up during the night. The tree’s name in Japanese is nemunoki, literally meaning “the sleeping tree”, and its flowers bloom in early summer. In fact, these trees were found on the bank of the Ayase River and were very popular among Edo people. Hiroshige probably brought them intentionally to this side of the Sumida River to make the composition of this print better.
A kind of white egret that lives near lakes, ponds or rivers is seen flying above the raftsman.