Picture Book: Children of the East

A prolific designer of single-sheet prints, Utagawa Toyohiro also produced many books. He provided the illustrations for a number of bestselling novels, as well as the images of several picture books, like this one. For this book, one of a two-volume set, Toyohiro depicted twelve celebrations associated with specific temples or shrines in the city of Edo. The event depicted here is Shōga-ichi or the Ginger Fair at the Shinmei Shrine, located in the southern part of Edo. In September, the shrine hosts a fair in which townspeople sell their special, locally grown ginger, ginger-flavored candy and the like. Visitors also purchase chigi, tiered cylindrical boxes made at the shrine that were believed to have talismanic powers.