左り不二　吉原　蒲原迄一り三十丁

About this print

Deep along a road lined with pines, Mount Fuji peeks through a gap in the trees on the left. A traveler in a large straw hat rides a horse, with a packhorse driver (mago) walking in front. Telegraph poles line the roadside, and in the distance someone holds a Western umbrella. This print of the Yoshiwara post town comes from Utagawa Hiroshige III's Tokai Meisho Kaisei Dochuki (Famous Places of the Tokaido, Revised Travel Guide), published in 1875 (Meiji 8). The National Diet Library titles it Kaisei Gojusan Eki (The Fifty-three Stations, Revised).

On the Tokaido from Edo to Kyoto, Mount Fuji is usually seen on the right. But after the Yoshiwara post town was destroyed by a storm surge in 1680 (Enpo 8), it was moved inland, and the road bent sharply to the north. So here Mount Fuji appears on the left. This is the famous sight called Hidari Fuji (Fuji on the Left).

Of the pine avenue seen in the print, only one pine is said to remain today.

Glossary