Nakatsugawa-juku

Per the 1843 "中山道宿村大概帳" (Nakasendō Shukuson Taigaichō) guidebook issued by the Inspector of Highways (道中奉行, Dōchu-būgyō), the town had a population of 928 people in 228 houses, including one honjin, one waki-honjin, and 29 hatago.The post station is relatively well-preserved, with a number of historical artifacts and buildings, including some machiya and a sake brewery.The first version is nicknamed "Retainers in the Rain", as it depicts three samurai in green cloaks and straw hats walking down the banks of the Nakatsugawa River in a downpour.In the background are the thatch-roofed buildings of the post station, with several other similarly green cloaked figures in various poses.One man dressed green has already crossed and two bearers with a kago (palanquin) are preparing to follow, while a local with two buckets on a pole on his should heads in the opposite direction zigzagging access a marsh towards what appears to be a sizable town on a large river or lake.
Hiroshige's second print of Nakatsugawa-juku in the series
post stationHiroshigeSixty-nine Stations of the Kiso KaidōNakatsugawa, GifuNakasendōsixty-nine stationsEdo periodMino ProvinceNakatsugawaGifu PrefectureKiso riverpost stationsTokugawa shogunatesankin-kōtaidaimyōhonjinhatagoOwari DomainkokudakamachiyaMatsuo BashōUtagawa Hiroshigeukiyo-eOchiai-jukuŌi-jukuWayback MachineMusashiNihonbashiItabashiWarabiŌmiyaOkegawaKōnosuFukiageai no shukuKumagaiFukayaHonjōKōzukeShinmachiKuraganoNikkō Reiheishi KaidōTakasakiItahanaAnnakaMatsuidaSakamotoShinanoKaruisawaKutsukakeOiwakeIwamuradaShionadaYawataMochizukiAshidaNagakuboShimosuwaKōshū KaidōShiojiriShio no MichiMotoyamaNiekawaYabuharaMiyanokoshiFukushimaAgematsuSuharaNojiriMidonoTsumagoMagomeOchiaiŌkuteHosokuteMitakeFushimiShinkanōAkasakaSekigaharaKashiwabaraSamegaiToriimotoTakamiyaEchigawaMoriyamaTōkaidōSanjō ŌhashiKusatsuYamashiro