Utagawa Hiroshige
1855
A group of people, who are considered as samurai from a daimyo procession, walk along the river. Although Suzuka River is in the title, the actual river depicted in the picture seems like Tamura River. Across the river, a Torii Gate and a shrine of Tamura Shrine are depicted among the dense wood.
The series, “Views of Famous Places of Fifty-three Stations of the Toukaidou” was produced in 1855, when Hiroshige was 59 years old, and this is his last Toukaidou series. This series is also called “The Toukaidou in Vertical Pictures” since it is produced as the series of vertical pictures. It is considered the vertical composition is not suitable for landscape pictures since it is difficult to find the good balance in the space. However Hiroshige, the master of landscape pictures used this composition in a distinctive way, created the masterpiece series.