Echigo Province: Oyashirazu

From the center of the picture to the right, reddish-brown rock walls stand in a row like a folding screen, covered with green trees above. A narrow white sandy beach runs along the foot of the cliffs, with several small travelers visible. The lower half of the picture is filled with waves heaving in indigo.

Against the strong color combination of reddish-brown cliffs, green above, and indigo sea, a sunset sky and gray mountains in the left background add depth. The waves are drawn with layered fine lines, and seem about to wash over the beach at any moment. A thin band of white beach divides cliff from sea, showing how narrow the path was, barely wide enough for people to pass.

Oyashirazu was a hazardous place where the Hokurikudo ran along the water's edge beneath cliffs where the Northern Alps drop into the Sea of Japan. Travelers had to dash through between waves, with no time to look after anyone else, and the name is said to derive from parents and children not being able to spare a thought for one another.

By spreading rough waves over half the picture and drawing the people walking at the foot of the cliffs very small, Hiroshige makes viewers feel the danger of this road. The National Diet Library also holds an impression with the same composition.