Kisokaidô: Yabuhara - Station 35

Keizai Eisen - Series of the 69 stations of the Kisokaido: Station Yabuhara (36th print), The Inkstone Spring at Torii Pass (Yabuhara Toriitoge suzuri no shimizu)

© Trustees of the British Museum

Having ascended the Torii Pass, a pair of travellers (1) rests by the side of the road before entering the station of Yabuhara. To the left, two female wood gatherers (2) their back laden walk up to join them. Below a pine tree is a spring (3), according to legend, its water was used by local hero Kiso Yoshinaka (see Station Seba) in 1180 to mix ink for a petition he inscribed on the top of the sacred Mt.Ontake (4), seen in the distance on the right. Above the spring, a stone slab (5) is inscribed with a poem by Basho who passed this way on one of his famous journeys. The poem is "higher than a skylark resting in the sky on a mountain pass". Usually pilgrims wear hats bearing a symbol linked to the purpose of their trip, but here, one of the sedge hat bears the kiwame censor’s mark (6) instead.

The first state of this print has a red-pink gradation in the sky to suggest the setting sun. This gradation is lost in later impressions. Then Eisen's signature disappears, Basho’s poem is removed from the stone slab and Mt.Ontake becomes blue. Above is the later state with a first printing on the right.

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

Keisai Eisen: Yabuhara - Reproduction of the first state by Kyoto Hanga-in (ca. 1950)

A wood gatherer (hand colored picture dated ca.1880)

Torii-toge Pass in 1880

Descent after Torii-toge Pass in 1880

Kiso river valley at Yabuhara in 1880

Bridge over Kiso river at Yabuhara in 1890

Naka no chaya (Teahouse at halfway)

This is where an invading force of 2000 Takeda warriors trapped in the heavy snow was defeated by a smaller force of 500 soldiers under the command of Kiso Yoshimasa in February 1583

View from Torii-toge Pass and the village in the valley

And now ?

After Narai, the road ascends the Torii Pass. Its name comes from the gate or torii of the Shinto shrine which had been built at the 1200m/3,500ft high pass where travellers paused to have a first look at Mt.Ontake, Japan’s second sacred mountain. In Kisoji no ki written in 1709, it is said "The Torii-pass is even steeper than the Usui-pass. It is a dangerous place and it is difficult to ride a horse. Long ago, there was a torii at the top of the pass, but there is no such torii now" (translation by William Scott Wilson). A torii was rebuilt there in 1845 and then again in 1865.

Mt.Ontake is 3067m/9,000ft high and is the second highest volcano in Japan after Mt.Fuji. It is an active volcano and its latest eruption occurred in 1979. There are five small lakes in the old craters. From the pass, the descent through the forest towards Yabuhara is steep and the road is not well maintained. At several places, small bells to scare off the bears have been placed.

Yabuhara is a small village at 260km/162mi from Tokyo, known for its antiques and handicraft shops. Kawanabe Akira’s print depicts one of these shops (Miyakawa Shiryokan) while Nishijima chose to depict the old Komeya inn. The old buckwheat noodle soba restaurant Oginoya has an Edo-period feel and dishes are served around an ash-filled earth with a kettle hanging. It was before a general store serving the travelers and has been in the same family for 680 years. The building was damaged in a fire in 1830, but restored soon after. Across the street, the "Kiso" sake brewery with its large twig ball is waiting for your visit......