At the center, you can see the main temple building and one of the Edo Roku Jizou (six Jizou statues of Edo), behind which extends a peaceful rural landscape.

When we talk about Jizou in Sugamo from the Edo Period we talk about the Jizou of Shinshou Temple, which was known as one of the Six Edo Jizou. The Six Edo Jizou were erected at the entrances to the Six Routes that leads to Edo, as　guardian deities to protect the boundaries of the living habitat. The Six Edo Jizou is comprised of (1)　Shinagawa Honsen Temple (Toukaidou), (2) Yotsuya Taisou Temple (Koushu Kaidou), (3) Sugamo Shinshou Temple (Nakasendou), (4) San'ya Touzen Temple (Oushu Kaidou), (5) Fukugawa Reigan Temple (Mizutou Kaidou), and (6) Fukugawa Eitai Temple (Chiba Kaidou).

The road in front of the gate of Shinshou Temple is called "Sugamo Street", but it was originally Nakasendou. This road was traveled heavily daily as it was a major passage to the different countries.

In Sugamo town, which lay along Nakasendou, garden shops dotted the area. These shops played a leading role in the chrysanthemum boom of the late Edo Period. They collected a large amount of chrysanthemums, and were said to be packed daily by many visitors wanting to see "chrysanthemum art" taking the shapes of Ryuuguu Castle, Mt. Fuji, and animals.

On a hot summer afternoon, this is a sight from the standpoint (rest stop) of the Nakasendou. At the two tea shops, you can get watermelon, dumplings, and more.

Many people here are wearing straw hats or wiping off their perspiration. You can also see some people playing with their dogs after taking a break. You can see some people fighting as well, maybe because of the heat. Here are some children excitedly on their way to catch bugs.

In the rear, the beautiful rural landscape spreads out northward toward Asukayama. From Edo, people who came to see the flowers could enjoy primrose in the early spring and deutzia in the summer while looking at Asukayama.

As a side job, the farmers of the area are said to have sold primrose to Edo towns. However, here you do not see people vigorously buying and selling primrose. You see the cherry blossoms of Ueno, Nippori, Asukayama, and more blossoming together.

Asukayama was once known in Edo for its flowers. The eighth shogun Yoshimune is said to have planted 1,270 cherry blossoms, 100 azalea, and more starting in Kyouho period 5 (1720). The gardeners of Somei are said to have taken part in the planting of the trees at the time.

The area was home to tea shops and restaurants, and when the flower watching season came, it became Edo's main amusement spot, crowded with many people and giving meaning to the phrase "a spectacular sight".

In this illustration, the direction of Mt. Tsukuba has been drawn, and in the Asukayama Juuni Keiwaka, the beauty of the near and far landscapes viewed from Asukayama, including Nishigahara, Somei, and Chichibu, are expressed through Chinese poetry, Japanese poetry, and pictures.

In the text of "Edo Meisho Zue", the following is written: "This is a wide land with grassy hills. Each season has lovely scenery: flowers in spring, herbs in fall, coolness in summer, and snow in winter. In the first Genkou period (1321 - 1324), Toshima Saemon moved the shrine of Asuka here (upon the god's command). Therefore, this mountain became known as Asukayama. When Ouji Shrine was built in the Kan'ei period (1624 - 1644), the smaller shrine of Asuka was moved from the mountaintop and placed on the Ouji Shrine grounds. Later on in the Genbun period (1736 - 1741), thousands of cherry trees were planted here at the command of Tokugawa Yoshimune. The interior was to be used for pleasure, and the exterior for weeding and woodcutting. Several years passed and the flowers bloomed. Those skilled in the refined ways of poetry and the arts wrote poems about Asukayama. Farmers grazed their livestock here, while woodcutters cut hay and gathered firewood. The cherry blossoms in spring were especially beautiful, truly a spectacular sight. As it has long been said in the Kumano region, it is most suitable in spring to carry flowers when you go to worship at a shrine.".

This area was once rich in water and had so many waterfalls that they were called the Ouji Nana Taki.
The Shakujiigawa River that flowed here bored through the valley,creating a number of waterfalls and echoing its sound as it went.
This is why the area came to be called Takinogawa (Waterfall River),even though the actual name of the river was Otonashigawa River.

This is an illustration of Fudoutaki, one of the Ouji Nana Taki waterfalls. It shows the chasm of the valley densely surrounded by trees and the waterfall.

Looking at the illustration, you can see a person gazing from afar at the Fudoutaki as if they have finally reached their destination, another person quenching their thirst with tea, and others watching in wonder at the power of the waterfall. The illustration exudes the refreshing moment one takes in the middle of a journey.

A field stretches across the canvas where you can see the Ouji Inari Shrine in the distance.

On the mountains around Ouji are tall cedar trees, where many foxes are once said to have lived.

A New Year's Eve legend of this area says that kitsune (fox gods) from far away would make their way to gather around the large tree in the center, the Ishouenoki, where they would light a fire, put on costumes, and pay homage.

This is why the large tree is also called the "Shouzokuenoki". The villagers would look at the mysterious fire of the kitsune from afar and use it to predict their harvest for the coming year.