Kusatsu: From Kusatsu to Yabase, a Bow and Bowstring

Hiroshige's print depicts the Kusatsu station along the Tokaido, Japan's primary trade route connecting Edo and Kyoto. The composition divides the scene into two registers: the upper portion shows a distant mountain landscape with anchored vessels in calm waters, while the lower section presents the busy harbor itself with fishing boats and workers processing nori (seaweed). The title's metaphorical reference to bow and bowstring suggests the connection between this station and the next. This print belongs to Hiroshige's celebrated 53 Stations of the Tokaido series, which documented Japan's landscape and commerce during the Edo period through the refined techniques of woodblock printing.