The Kawachirō Restaurant, Shitaya Hirokōji (Shitaya Hirokōji, Kawachirō), from the series A Collection of Famous Restaurants of Edo (Edo Kōmei Kaitei Zukushi)

Some prints in this thirty-part series depict restaurants with such precision that the surrounding landscape reveals their exact location, as in this example. The setting for this scene is Shinobazu Pond, a well-known landmark often featured in the meisho-e genre (pictures of famous places). Hiroshige skillfully integrates the restaurant Kawachirō’s interior into this familiar locale, allowing viewers to identify both the celebrated site and the specific establishment within it. An attendant serves sashimi, transferring it from a large porcelain platter onto smaller serving dishes to be presented to guests—an intimate glimpse of the refined culture that flourished in Edo’s renowned dining houses.