Night View of Saruwakamachi

This is the main street through Saruwakamachi, Edo’s theater district. The building on the right with its lights on is the Morita Theater, followed by the Ichimura and Nakamura theaters. Teahouses are ready for business on the left side  of the street. Today the area is a mix of residential buildings and textile manufacturers. Displayed at left is version no. 2 of nine with a yellow title cartouche, embellished with red  clouds. The thin cloud feature under the moon was not printed but added by hand and varies with each impression. Version no. 5, on the right, is simplified and has no cloud; the clouds in the cartouche were printed green.