One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.88Takino River at Oji

In the northern suburbs of Edo city, the Shakujii River flowed from west to east and joined the Arakawa River (upstream of the Sumida River). In Oji village, there was a ravine through which the Shakujii River passed, just before joining up with the Arakawa.
This stretch of the river was named Takinogawa, meaning “waterfall river”, because many waterfalls (“taki”) were to be observed along the ravine.
On the right of this print, a waterfall is depicted coming out of the side of a hill. At the base of the waterfall a man purifies himself. On a path at the foot of the hill stands a small torii, an archway leading to a shrine in a cave which enshrined Benten, the goddess of water.
The eighth shogun, Yoshimune Tokugawa, felt a strong attachment to this place and ordered the development of the neighbourhood as a one-day excursion site for Edo people. In line with the order, cherry trees and maple trees were planted on the banks of the river. There is a large concentration of these trees around Kongoji temple on the hill, shown on the right side of this print.
In contrast to Asukayama hill, lying in the immediate neighbourhood to the south and one of the best cherry tree-viewing sites, this deep, narrow valley with steep sides was rather famous as a maple tree-viewing site. Accordingly, the neighbourhood was always crowded with visitors from the centre of Edo enjoying the autumn leaves, as well as the wonderful view of the ravine. In this print, many maple trees with red leaves are seen in various places.