View of Koshigoe from Shichiri-ga-hama

Located about thirty miles south from the city of Edo city (today's Tokyo), Shichirigahama Beach affords a scenic view of the Pacific Ocean as well as the dramatic promontory of Enoshima. Because of its relative proximity to Edo, the area had long been a popular vacation spot for the city's inhabitants. The two women depicted here are likely such visitors from Edo. Both wear ageb?shi, a type of simple headdress originally used upper-class women to protect their oiled coiffures from dust and wind when traveling. By the late 18th century, ageb?shi had been adopted by fashion-conscious women on all levels of society to protect their hairdos. Holding long thin smoking pipes, another fashionable accessory, these women seem to be traveling in style.