Yodogawa (The Yodo River)

A ferry laden with passengers and luggage crosses the Yodo River, a major route between Kyoto and Osaka, a journey of half to a full day. Rather than serving sightseeing, boats on the Yodo River were primarily functional. A smaller kurawankabune has pulled alongside to serve food and drink, while a cuckoo, an auspicious symbol, flies across the full moon. Unlike other Yodo River prints, which often adopt a bird’s-eye or distant view to emphasize the landscape, Hiroshige draws attention to life aboard the boat, combining a poetic, nostalgic setting with scenes of everyday life: a mother nursing her infant, tired men napping, two friends chatting while enjoying a cup of sake, a Konpira pilgrim resting with his tengu mask set aside, and a boatman gazing up at the moon and passing cuckoo.