ALLEN MEMORIAL ART MUSEUM 37 Above: UtagawaHiroshige I 初代目歌川広重 (Japanese, 1797–1858) An Image of Prosperityon the Street inŌdenma-chō inEdo, ca. 1843–47 Color woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper Bequest of Ronald J. DiCenzo, Professor of History and East Asian Studies at Oberlin College, 1972–2005, 2020.4.10 Ōdenma-chō was a district in Edo famous for its long rows of shops that sold cotton cloth. Sellers here adopted a cash-only, fixed-price policy through which all customers were treated equally. People from all levels of society are seen on this busy but well-ordered street: a high-ranking samurai with his son and two retainers (center), women and children of the merchant or artisan classes, and laborers packing andmoving goods (background). All wear beautifully dyed and patterned clothing. Note the square, fencelike structures at the very tops of the roofs; these held large barrels of rainwater, kept at the ready for firefighting. Cotton was introduced to Japan in the late 14th to early 15th centuries—a renewable resource that had a huge impact on the quality of life for ordinary people. Although the wealthy had silk garments, most people in earlier centuries had to make do with clothingmade from hemp, paper, or other materials that were uncomfortable, didn’t provide warmth, and were difficult to wash. Cotton changed all of that, bringing cheaper and better clothing to the masses. It also revolutionized bedding, as quilts and mattresses, or futon 布団, came into wide use. Right: UtagawaHiroshige I 初代目歌川広重 (Japanese, 1797–1858) No. 12, Mishima: First Gate of the Shrine ofMishimaDaimyōjin, fromthe series Pictures of Famous Places of the Fifty-three Stations, also known as the Vertical Tōkaidō, 1855 Color woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper MaryA. AinsworthBequest, 1950.1336 The two-story buildings here exemplify the street-facing structures that typically had residences on the second floor andmerchant shops or craftsmen’s studios on the ground floor, opening directly onto the street. You can see many women of the chōnin class out and about. Unlike samurai women, who were expected to stay in the home, most townswomen worked, andmany staffed or managed shops.
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