Yamato Province: Tatsuta Mountain and Tatsuta River

A rocky cliff rises at the right edge of the picture, and from its top a tree turned red and brown spreads its branches wide. Beyond the tree the river winds into the distance, and on the water a man stands on a raft working a pole. In the middle is a pine-covered bank like a small raised island, and on the left bank are trees in autumn color and a row of thatched huts.

In the distance, pale green mountains overlap, with white mist rising in the valleys. Using a large tree in the foreground to strengthen the sense of depth is a device Hiroshige used repeatedly in this series. The blue of the river and the red of the autumn leaves convey the clear air of autumn.

The Tatsuta River is a poetic place name (utamakura) that includes two poems in the Hyakunin Isshu, beginning with Ariwara no Narihira's "Chihayaburu kamiyo mo kikazu Tatsutagawa karakurenai ni mizu kukuru to wa." For people in the Edo period, Yamato first brought to mind the Tatsuta River with its autumn leaves. The Tatsuta River of old poems is also said to have meant part of today's Yamato River.

Tatsuta Mountain in the title refers to the mountain of the Tatsuta area, and is thought to be around Tatsuta Taisha (Sango Town), which enshrines the god of wind. The Art Institute of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art also hold the same design.