Minowa, Kanasugi, Mikawashima

From the top of the picture a red-crowned crane descends with wings spread wide and neck stretched downward. Below it another stands at the water's edge looking up at the sky. In the middle ground rice fields and marsh spread out with a small farmer visible, and a branching tree stands at the right. Trees and houses line the distant horizon.

The wings of the white crane boldly cover the upper half of the picture, and the colors come together with the indigo water and green bank in front and the rose evening sky. Placing a large bird in the foreground against the distant view is also seen in the eagle of the winter print "Fukagawa Susaki and Jumantsubo."

The Mikawashima area was a hunting ground for the shogun's falconry, and a "crane feeding ground" was established there to feed the cranes that arrived in winter. The cranes were carefully protected, and cranes caught during the shogun's falconry are said to have been presented to the imperial court.

This print belongs to the winter section, and its title lists the names of three villages: Minowa, Kanasugi, and Mikawashima. It depicts a landscape in the suburbs, a little way from the city of Edo, with birds as its protagonists. The composition conveys, through the figures of two cranes alone, the character of Mikawashima as a place known for its winter crane visitors.