Cormorant Fishing Boats on the Nagara River at Godo Station

On the large boat in the foreground, a cormorant master in a straw waist cape leans out to work the cords, with a man holding a long pipe seated behind him. Diving cormorants show as dark shapes through the water. Several more boats carrying cresset fires float on the river beyond, and on the far bank a pine-covered hill and low mountains stretch along the horizon.

The sky and distant view are done in shades of gray, so that only the red of the fires, the brown of the boats, and the indigo of the river stand out. Painting even what lies beneath the surface to show the birds' movements is considered typical of Eisen's fine attention to detail. The boat is pushed to the lower right, drawing the eye across the river that opens out to the left.

Godo-juku was a small post town on the right bank of the Nagara River, and travelers coming from Kano-juku crossed the river at the Godo ferry. Nagara River cormorant fishing has long been famous, and in the Edo period it is said to have been under the protection of the Owari domain, which presented the sweetfish catch as tribute.

The title reads "Kiso Road Stations" (Kisoji no Eki), which is written differently from the "Kisokaido Sixty-nine Stations" used in Hiroshige's designs. This is the westernmost station among Eisen's designs; every station farther toward Kyoto was handled by Hiroshige. Beside the title is the signature "Eisen ga."