The shown below are Hiroshige Utagawa’s Ukiyoe of Kagurazaka and the present picture of the place that Utagawa drew. I recently looked at this Utagawa’s woodcut at Ukiyoe Ota Museum. In this Ukiyoe, we can see the the gate to Edo castle as circled with red line. On the right hand, there was a space with a roof for visitors to wait for security check. Many people are walking on Kaguraza street in the Ukiyoe.
In the present picture, I also draw a red circle around the top of the hill where the gate to the castle was located. Students do not put on kimono in the twenty-first century. But the geographic feature in the Ukiyoe seems to coincide with the current one.
Actually, we can see the remain of the stone gate beside JR IIdabashi station west exit. The outer moat is next to the remain of the gate. In spring, a lot of cherry blossoms bloom along the moat. We can enjoy the view of the moat sipping coffee at a cafe along the moat.
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