The print almost certainly depicts an episode narrated in the Ise Monogatari, reinterpreted in a feminine tone in accordance with mitate-e artifice: the poet Ariwara no Narihira as he travels with his retinue to the eastern provinces and composes waka. The horizontal format lends itself well to the sense of procession, suggesting a slow pace, and at the same time allows the landscape to be portrayed.
The lower portion of the print must have originally contained an ample description of the subject depicted, but it has been completely lost.