One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.64Iris flowers at Horikiri

Horikiri village was located east of the Ayase River, just before it joined the Sumida River. The area was mainly marshy land and was suitable for growing irises.
Towards the end of the Muromachi period (1392-1573), a retainer of a manor lord brought some iris plants from a marsh in northern Japan and planted them in this village. This was the beginning of irises growing in this area. However, it took many years for their beauty to be fully appreciated by Edo people.
About the middle of the Edo period, a farmer and his son who lived in the area enthusiastically collected and planted new and different varieties of irises from all over Japan. In those days, the different species of irises came to more than 200 and the exact number planted in this area was impossible to count.
Having heard about the reputation of the village for the beauty of its flowers, an influential lord named Nariaki Tokugawa of the Mito family—one of the three branch families of the Tokugawa house—came to look at them in 1837 and was so amazed with the wonderful scene that he declared the irises to be the most beautiful in Japan. This incident prompted the public to recognize the beauty of iris flowers in the village.
In the early summer, the various kinds of irises put forth flowers of purple, pure white and a blue with a splashed pattern. In this print it looks as if flowers are vying with each other to be the most beautiful.
In the foreground, Hiroshige has sketched some iris flowers close-up, and through the thin leaves, visitors can be seen enjoying the view.