吉野六田渡

About this print

This woodblock print shows the Muda Ferry (Muda no Watashi), which once crossed the Yoshino River in Nara Prefecture. It is one of the prints in Nihon Taikan (Grand Views of Japan), in which the Western-style painter Nakazawa Hiromitsu depicted scenes around the country, published in 1922 (Taisho 11) by Kanao Bun'endo. The painter's pictures were turned into woodblock prints by carvers and printers.

The Muda Ferry crossed the Yoshino River at Muda, linking the north bank with the south bank at the foot of Mount Yoshino, and it is said to have been started in the Heian period by the priest Shobo (Rigen Daishi). Also called the "Willow Ferry," it was the starting and ending point for ascetic training in the Omine mountains. The flow of the river at Muda is sung of in the Man'yoshu, and in the Edo period many pilgrims bound for Yoshino crossed here.

In 1919 (Taisho 8), the wooden Miyoshino Bridge was built across the Yoshino River, and around 1936 it was replaced by the present iron bridge. Sources differ on how long the ferry stayed in use. Mount Yoshino, south of the river, is a Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty, and in 2004 it was inscribed as a World Heritage Site as part of the "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range."

Glossary