Collection of Famous Edo Restaurants: Keiseigakubo in Hakusan (Edo Kōmei Kaitei Zukushi: Hakusan Keiseigakubo)
Painted by Utagawa Hiroshige I 1838 (Tenpō 9) Tokyo Shiryō Collection 0451-C23

This is one piece of a collection of 30 printes of famous restaurants in Edo. Keiseigakubo was located on Nakasendō road that ran from Nihonbashi through Sugamo and through to the post station of Itabashijuku. The Hakusan Daigongen shrine was close by.


The print shows travelers relaxing and women busy attending to customers at the restaurant. A partially-papered screen door shows the words "meals served instantly" and a noren doorway curtain is adorned with the name of the restaurant, Mankin. An official bulletin board can be seen at the right, and the whole image exudes the atmosphere of a thoroughfare bustling with travelers and their horses. The comic haiku written in the fan-shaped frame shows that this restaurant was famous for a thick rolled egg dish. The name of the restaurant, Mankin, also appears in a restaurant ranking compiled in 1861 (Bunkyū 1), suggesting that this streetside establishment had a long and prosperous history.

Print