Scene on the Hill at Kanagawa

On the right side of the picture a slope climbs steeply from the foreground into the distance. Teahouses stand shoulder to shoulder along the road, and women who have come out to the front of the shops take the hands of passing travelers to lead them in. The travelers, digging in their heels as they are pulled along, show how lively this hillside post station was.

Climbing the slope in the foreground is a rokubu, a pilgrim who travels around temples and shrines across the country, with a box on his back. He pays no attention to the commotion of the touts and keeps walking silently. On the sea side of the teahouses a projecting terrace can be seen, suggesting that customers who went inside could enjoy the view of the inlet.

In the inlet on the left half, sailing ships and small boats float, and a headland overlaps in the distance. Daimachi in Kanagawa-juku was known as a district of teahouses lined up on a slope with a sweeping sea view. Hiroshige shows the slope and the sea together from a high viewpoint.

Looking down from the top of the slope, the rooftops line up diagonally and the sea opens out beyond them. The composition divides the picture diagonally between the slope on the right and the sea on the left, capturing in a single sheet the view unique to a post station on high ground. Indigo clouds trail across the sky, creating a sense of spaciousness against the bright sea.