Utagawa hiroshige (japan, 1797-1858). Cherry trees in full bloom in the third month (march) along the gokacho in the new yoshiwara, of the series "famous places in the eastern capital", ca. 1835. Color woodcut. Chazen museum of art, university of wisconsin – madison. Additional info: "hiroshige proposes here a view of the cherry blossoms of edo, present-day tokyo, from yoshiwara, the red light district or pleasure district of edo, authorized by the shogunate. New yoshiwara is the temporary name that this neighborhood received in the years after it was rebuilt after the great meireki fire, which devastated almost all of edo and in which around 100,000 people lost their lives. Filled with brothels and kabuki theaters, and immersed in an aura of a certain mystery and refinement, yoshiwara (吉原, "the good luck meadow") faithfully represented the prevailing philosophy of the ukiyo era. Or floating world. These red light districts, which proliferated in all the large cities, were highly frequented by merchants and artisans, key figures in the emergence of the characteristic urban lifestyle of edo, and were also allowed access to the rōnin , masterless samurai, a once a year to see the hanami (花見) or cherry blossom. ". Date: 1 March 1835.
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