A Local Specialty Store, Kusatsu, from the series the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Hoeido edition)

Located at the intersection of the Tokaido and Kiso Highways, Kusatsu flourished. This pictures a tea stall set up in Yagura Village, beyond Kusatsu station. The sign in front says “uba mochi shop” (uba mochi translates as “grandma mochi”), but it is said that ubaga mochi was first sold to support the son of Sasaki Yoshikata (killed by Oda Nobunaga) by his grandmother, who kept him in hiding.