Ochiai

Crossing an earthen bridge over the river in the foreground, a party carrying lacquered boxes and palanquins climbs the slope. On the high ground at right beyond the slope, tile-roofed houses stand in a row: this is the post town. Behind it spreads a blackish forest, and beyond that rises a large blue mountain.

The sky is red at the top and pale below, suggesting dusk. The indigo of the river in front, the green of the hill, and the blue of the distant mountain form layers, and the small figures of the procession give the picture rhythm. The houses at right are finely drawn, conveying the bustle of the post town even from afar.

Ochiai was the first post town of Mino after leaving the Kiso Road, where travelers who had descended the Magome Pass rested. Nearby flows the Ochiai River, a tributary of the Kiso River. One honjin and one waki-honjin were placed there, and it probably bustled with travelers preparing to cross the pass and with porters and horses carrying cargo.

This is by Hiroshige. The title does not name a mountain, and the picture, showing the post town with a large mountain behind it, is thought to indicate the entrance from the Kiso Road into Mino. The composition of drawing figures small to make the terrain of the post town look large seems to show the road ahead of the travelers.