繩手道　袋井　見附迄一り二十丁

About this print

Tall pines stand along a road running straight through the rice fields. A traveler in a straw hat rides a horse, and in front, a rickshaw puller sits down for a rest. "Nawatemichi" on the tag means a road running between rice fields. Utagawa Hiroshige III drew this print, one of 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).

The signpost on the right reads "From here to Kasuisai Sanjakubo, 18 cho," telling travelers it is 18 cho (about 2 kilometers) to Kasuisai. Kasuisai is a Soto Zen temple in Fukuroi. In 1873 (Meiji 6), under the Meiji rules separating Shinto gods from Buddhism (shinbutsu bunri), the deity Sanjakubo Daigongen was moved there from Mount Akiha.

The Fukuroi post town was the 27th station counting from either Edo or Kyoto, right in the middle of the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido.

Glossary