Waterwheel at Onden

During the Edo period, Onden was a quiet farm village near the Shibuya River, shown here beyond the mill. Today, the area is known as Harajuku, a hotspot for fashion-forward young people. The Shibuya River (also known as the Onden River) was covered over during road construction before the Olympic Games held in Tokyo in 1964. However, it once was a valuable natural resource. As early as 1769, farmers built waterwheels on the river’s tributaries and used them to run grain mills and threshing machines. In this image, two women—one with a wooden bucket, the other with a woven basket—appear to be doing laundry in the millrace. Near them, a boy stares curiously at the waterwheel while his pet turtle tugs at its leash. The two men approaching with heavy sacks are possibly bringing rice to be milled.