This canal was created in the seventeenth century to supply drinking water to the Fukagawa area. In Hiroshige's time a regular passenger-boat service emerged as a pleasant shortcut for Edo travelers heading northeast. This was the only towboat canal in Edo, and hence it enjoyed some distinction. Although the canal followed an absolutely straight line, Hiroshige depicted it with artistic license. The dramatic curves lend a sense of Western perspective seldom encountered in the series.
Source: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/121647
