Kisokaidô: Kuragano - Station 12

Kuragano at 100km/75 mi from Nihonbashi is surrounded by three rivers: Tone-gawa, Karasu-gawa and Kabura-gawa. During the spring period and the rainy season, the water was high enough to allow for a ferry service to and from Edo. Goods were transported by water by boat for transport farther on. The station (1) can be seen here on the bank of the Karasu-gawa. On the river a cargo boat loaded with rice (2) follows a raft of log (3) downstream. In a wayside rest stop, a stylish young woman (4) reclines with a cup of tea. On a small landing, a maid (5) scours an iron rice cooker. The two women are rendered in a city style that made Eisen a famous painter of beauties. In the water nearby naked boys are playing, one of them having caught a turtle (6).

The print here is a later impression with missing signature and publisher seal (On the right, you can see a modern reproduction with seal). In the first printings, The mountain was green to refer to snow-melting and arrival of spring andthe river was so dark that it was difficult to distinguish the cargo and the log raft on the river. The river then became clearer, but the contrast with the green mountain was unsatisfactory. The mountain was then changed to gray, losing the reference to the season.

(Source: The 69 stations of the Kisokaido, Sebastian Izzard, Brazillier 2008)