Author: Nishijima Katsuyuki (西嶋勝之)
Title: Kisokaidō, Shionada (木曽街道、塩名田).
Subject: Shionada: the 23rd stop of the Kisokaidō road.
Series number: 131/500
Genre: meisho-e (名所絵)
Period: late 20th century.
Size: 52,5cm x 37,4cm (20,66 x 14,72 inches).
Trimmed: no
Backed: no
Code: NJK01006

Condition: good condition. Deep and clear colors all over the print. No creases, holes nor signs of fixings. Any remarkable stain.

A view of the rural relay station of Shionada which during the Edo era was the 23rd station (starting from Edo city) of the famous Kisokaidō (Nakasendō / 中山道) road.
Nowadays it represents a small fraction of Saku city in Nagano prefecture (Naganoken sakushi / 長野県佐久市) and it is easy recognisable from a stone of the unique shape: the Chikumagawa funatsunagi ishi (千曲川船つなぎ石), or Funatsunagi stone of the Chikuma river.
As said above this stone is unique in its shape and gender but not in its function. Funatsugi literraly means "that connect, tie or link to a ship" and it self-explains why these kind of stones were set in proximity of a river for: secure a ship when the river overflows its banks.
The Chikuma river was one of this kind. Flood after flood it dragged away its bridge leaving the traveller with no other choice but crossing it by foot or ship.