Night View of Saruwaka-machi (Saruwaka-machi yoru no kei), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)

No. 90 (fall section) on the title page for the series. In this moonlit scene crowds of townspeople, and even a few dogs, fill a long avenue in the Edo theater district. In 1841, the government took advantage of a destructive fire and moved all three kabuki theaters to the outskirts of town. In this fine example of Hiroshige’s mastery of one-point perspective, the avenue extends deep into the distance. On the right are the towers of the three theaters, Moritaza, Ichimuraza, and Nakamuraza. Shadows were another Western art convention that had begun to appear in Japanese art at this time.