Commentary on Hiroshige Print No. 44: A rough sketch of Nihonbashi

Nihonbashi, bashi meaning bridge, was the starting point of the Tokaido Highway, when the busiest thoroughfare in the world and which ended in Kyoto. The first 100 meter section of the highway was called Nihonbashi Toori, # 1, and was lined with various shops and stores. They were mostly run by merchants from Omi Province close to Kyoto and sold various products of the province including mosquito nets, woven rush grass for Japanese mats and bleached cotton cloth.

The first store on the right in this print, which stood at the northeastern corner of a crossroad, sold fancy goods such as fans, combs, ornamental hairpins, and cosmetics, under the name of Shirokiya. The store had remained a family enterprise for many generations until recently, when it was bought up by another store.

Running through the heart of Edo, the street was used by various kinds of people. In front of the above mentioned store is a vendor of Oriental melons who has displayed the fruit on the street side, a country-man who is eating sliced melon and a delivery man holding four boxes of Japanese buckwheat noodles over his shoulder.

A group of street performers from Osaka who were famous for dancing humourously to the accompaniment of vigorous music is moving northward under a showy umbrella on their way to give a performance at Asakusa, on of the amusement centers in Edo.

A woman minstrel with a samisen (a three stringed Japanese banjo) over her shoulder is walking alone behind the group. It seems very hot on the street as everybody is either wearing a hat or carrying an umbrella to protect themselves against the sun's heat.