東京開化三十六景　堀切の花菖蒲

About this print

Under a brown sunshade, on a tall plank-floored platform, are two women in kimono. The one on the left stands in a purple kimono, and the one on the right wears reddish brown. A tree with wide-spreading branches leans in from the upper left, and below, a field of flowers dotted white and purple spreads out, with two or three small figures walking through it.

The iris gardens of Horikiri date back to the late Edo period, were already famous then, and were pictured in ukiyo-e prints. The first garden came to be called Kodaka-en in the Meiji era. Later Yoshino-en opened, followed by Horikiri-en, and the area reached its height with five gardens side by side: Kodaka-en, Musashi-en, Yoshino-en, Horikiri-en and Kanka-en. Today's Horikiri Shobuen (Horikiri Iris Garden) is a Katsushika Ward park, built on part of Horikiri-en, the only one of the gardens to be revived after the war.

Take a look at the two white, lantern-like shapes hanging from the edge of the sunshade. Just below the brown roof and the red title panel, they sit small and white above the heads of the two women.

Glossary