The Pine Grove at Miho in Suruga Province and the Kiyomigaseki Barrier Station

Catalog note / 解説

Hiroshige chose a view of Mount Fuji for this 'uchiwa-e' (rigid fan print) design. We see the mountain from the Kiyomigaseki Barrier, looking across Miho Bay with its famous grove of pine trees. The Barrier was located on the Tokaido Highway between the 17th and 18th post-stations of Okitsu and Ejiri in Shizuoka Prefecture. Kiyomigaskei was an old barrier station set up as part of the provisions of the Taika Reforms in the 7th century. It subsequently fell into disuse and was absorbed into the grounds of the nearby Seikenji Temple. However, its name survived because of its proximity to the Miho pine grove and its poetic literary associations. Hiroshige has considerably skewed the topography…