The accompanying woodblock print depicts Hiyoshi Sanno Shrine, better known today as Hie-jinja in Chiyoda-ku. A stairway on the left ascends through a thick pinery, leading the viewer into the spacious precincts of the shrine.
The firm, rigid outlines of the cloistered main hall in contrast to the soft brushwork of the surrounding pines enhance the dignity and serenity of the shrine in the print.
The shrine is dedicated to Sanno Gongen, a deity who was highly revered by the Tokugawa shoguns. Sanno Gongen was a Buddhist manifestation of an indigenous Japanese god of mountains called Oyamakui-no Kami and had been worshipped at another location -- in what is now Otemachi -- centuries before Edo became the center of shogunate rule.
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