Kisokaidô: Ageo - Station 05
Keizai Eisen - Series of the 69 stations of the Kisokaido: Ageo (6th print) - Ageo station, Kamo Shrine (Ageo shuku Kamo yashiro)
(Edition done in 1950's by Kyoto Hanga-in under the supervision of Narazaki Muneshige, the most faithful to the first edition)
Ageo is located at 9ri 16 cho or 37km/25mi from Nihonbashi. Here the road is flat and straight, crossing the Kanto plain. This was the site of the Great Shrine of Kamo and Eisen depicts its entrance and a farmer’s house just outside (1). On the right is a row of vertical banners (2), reading from left to right 保永堂 (Hoeidô), 極竹 (kiwame take (Censor's approval seal)), 加茂 大明神 (Kamo Daimyojin, Great God of Kamo) and 竹之内板 (Takenouchi han). A mix of real banners and advertisements for the publisher.... In the foreground, a group of peasants (3) winnows rice and travellers are walking the road. 50 years later, rice winnowing had not changed as shown in this old picture.
Not many changes were made as editions progressed, but Eisen's signature (渓斎画 Keisai ga)) (4) and and the seal (竹内極 Takeuchi kiwame) were removed and the banners with the publisher’s name were altered to read Iseri いせり (for Iseya Rihei, Kinjudo) when the blocks changed hands. The banner with the seal was then left blank and the blue mountains in the left background disappeared.
(Source: The 69 stations of the Kisokaido, Sebastian Izzard, Brazillier 2008)
Peasants and rice winnowing ca.1890
And now ?
The station and its buildings burned down in 1861 and almost nothing remains of Eisen's time: Only a torii gate at the entrance of Kamo Shrine, an old house with heavy fireproof shutters which was also used as granary and an inn dating 1861, rebuilt just after the disastrous fire. Part of the honjin's old roof have been integrated in an old wall.
Current view of the Kamo Shrine old entrance (Same view as the Eisen print)
The torii (gate) of Kamo Shrine (modern)
An inn dating 1861, rebuilt after the town fire
House built in 1836, front
House built in 1836, back. Note the fire-proof window shutters, used usually for rice granaries.
A temple in Ageo