Ferryboats at Arai

The small boat in the foreground carries chugen (servants who did odd jobs for samurai families) attending a daimyo procession. Some stretch their arms and yawn, and others curl up asleep, showing how tired they are of the boat trip. At the bow, boatmen handle the sail and poles. The limbs of those leaning against the gunwale are thrown out, and a leisurely air hangs over the scene.

Ahead of them is the daimyo's state barge, hung with curtains bearing crests and with streamers and feather-tipped spears raised. On the far shore at back right, toward which the boats are headed, the Arai checkpoint is drawn. The Arai checkpoint was governed directly by the shogunate and was known for its strict inspections. The landing was located inside the checkpoint. Two feather-tipped spears are raised high on the state barge, making it clear at a glance that it is a daimyo's boat. Behind the far shore, gray mountain ranges continue.

The lower part of the sky is dyed red, which the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum reads as an evening scene. The indigo of the water is deep in the foreground and paler toward the back, expressing the breadth of the lake. If the previous Maisaka showed the departure point of the ferry from the shore, this print looks toward the destination from on board a boat.