Mid-Edo period (18th century)
Donated by the Homma family
This drawing depicts the town of Kisakata (present-day Nikaho City, Akita Prefecture) with Mt. Chōkai in the distance.
With its lagoons dotted with numerous small islands, Kisakata—like Matsushima in neighbouring Miyagi Prefecture—was known primarily as a place of scenic beauty with small islands and lagoons during the Edo period, attracting many writers and artists, including famed haiku poet Matsuo Bashō. However, a major earthquake in 1804 lifted the seabed, transforming the islands into little more than a scattering of hillocks and outcrops.
As such, this sketch is a valuable illustration of what Kisakata looked like before the earthquake.