Yahagi Bridge at Okazaki

A wooden bridge extends in a large arc from the lower left of the picture to the back right. On the bridge a daimyo procession continues without a break, with hats and spears lined up like small dots. The wooden bracing of the bridge piers repeats regularly, emphasizing the length of the bridge. Red umbrellas and flags can also be seen in the procession, adding variation in color to the fine line of people.

Yahagi Bridge was built by the shogunate and boasted one of the greatest lengths on the Tokaido in the Edo period. Citing the Tokaido Meisho Zue, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum gives its length as 208 ken (about 370 meters). Lining up the procession in a long row makes the length stand out all the more. On the bank at the back left, reeds grow thick, conveying the breadth of the river. The pale yellow riverbed at the foot of the bridge is sharply distinct from the indigo of the water.

On the far bank at the back right is drawn the keep of Okazaki Castle, known as the castle where Tokugawa Ieyasu was born. The mountain behind it is printed in indigo and the nearer one in ink, so that distance is also expressed through differences in color. Grass grows on the near riverbank, and the river water turns deep indigo under the bridge. The lower part of the sky is dyed pale yellow.