The New Fields of Öno in Suruga Province

Catalog note / 解説

The print depicts early morning in the marshy paddies of Öno, with mist rising from the wet grasses while waterfowl skim the surface of the water. Fuji solemnly rises through the mist to the sky; it touches the upper edge of the picture. This ethereal landscape dramatically contrasts with the human activity revealed in the foreground. A group of farmers leads five oxen laden with mountainous bundles of reeds, while two women carry smaller bundles of grass on their backs. They have finished their morning labors and are going home for breakfast. ‘New Fields’ was a name applied to fields recently brought under cultivation. During the Edo period, the shogun and local governments made an effort…