Oji Inari Shrine, from

The Oji Inari Shrine in northern Tokyo was one of the most celebrated fox shrines in the Kanto region, famous for the legend that foxes gathered beneath a large nettle tree at New Year's Eve before dispersing across the countryside at dawn. Kiyochika made multiple prints of the Oji district, drawn to its combination of shrine precincts, wooded hills, and the Asukayama parkland nearby. This composition, framed as a view from a specific vantage point, likely situates the vermillion torii gates and forested shrine grounds within a broader atmospheric landscape. The title's truncation suggests it is one composition from a series. Characteristic bokashi gradations would establish the atmospheric depth of sky above treeline, while the dense cedars or pines surrounding the shrine enclosure provide dark vertical mass. Oji was also served by Tokyo's early street railway, and Kiyochika occasionally incorporated these modern infrastructural elements into his shrine landscapes.