Distant View of Miho at Ejiri

The composition shows only a few rooftops of houses in the foreground and looks down on the inlet from there. Ships with rows of masts gather in the harbor, and those heading out to sea raise white square sails. The sails grow smaller toward the back and continue in dots near the horizon.

The long strip of pine forest stretching beyond the inlet is Miho no Matsubara. In the back left, mountain ranges including Mount Ashitaka continue, and sea and mountains divide the picture into upper and lower halves. The top of the sky is shaded vermilion, brightly rounding off the calm seascape.

Ejiri corresponds to the area of present-day Shimizu Port and flourished as a harbor town on Suruga Bay. Almost no travelers are drawn in this print, and the view of the harbor and sea itself is the star. Among the Hoeido edition, which has many figure-centered prints, this is one to savor for its spreading landscape.

Miho no Matsubara has long been a subject of paintings and poems as a scenic spot from which to look up at Mount Fuji. In this print Fuji itself is not drawn, and the pine grove and the ships in the harbor are the main subjects. The composition draws the eye away step by step, from the rooftops in front to the horizon in the back.