Japanese poster depicting the peaceful and refined beauty of Japanese nature - Hiroshige's The Ferry of Niijuku

"The Ferry of Niijuku" (original title: にい宿のわたし) is a woodblock print by the Japanese painter and illustrator Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) produced in February 1857.

The Niijuku Ferry, used to cross the Nakagawa River, which marks Edo's northern border, is only partially visible in the lower right corner of the print. Its appearance seems to serve as a pretext for Hiroshige to offer viewers a vast panorama of his surroundings. To the left of the image, a brightly lit restaurant attracts attention, with people heading towards it from the pier, while others remain where they are. A man cleans his horse's hooves in the waters of the river, adding a touch of everyday life to the scene. Amid the tall pine trees lining the riverbank, a fisherman sits, peacefully watching a barge laden with goods pass by. The background is softly blurred by the characteristic reddish mist of dusk, and the subtle transition of the sky is rendered using the bokashi technique, adding a poetic atmosphere to this depiction.