The 1830s woodblock print by Hasegawa Settan (right) might at first look like an abstract picture jammed with squares and diamond forms. In fact, it shows the bustling kabuki theater district in the Sakaicho and Fukiyacho districts of Edo.
Only a 5-minute walk from Nihonbashi fish market, the kabuki town was an integral part of the greater Nihonbashi area. Adjacent to it, though not pictured, there was the Yoshiwara red-light quarter, forming -- together with the theaters -- a large entertainment area on the eastern edge of early Edo bounded by the Sumida River.
What look like two flattened pyramids on the left of the print are the kabuki theaters, Nakamuraza and Ichimuraza. The dark-colored cubes on narrow roofs along the street are the signs of performance permits. The right-hand section across the street is for smaller puppet theaters, their permits displayed in the same way.
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