39th Station, Chiryu Horse Fair, from Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road

Chiryu was noted for its flourishing horse market, held late April to early May of each year. Appropriately, Hiroshige entitled this print Summer Horse Market, in which he depicts horses for sale tied to posts in the foreground. In the middle ground, travelers cluster together with the roofs of the post station visible beyond. A single pine tree in the center of the composition reminds viewers of the shogunate’s mandate to plant pine trees along the highway before and after each post station. Chiryu was also known for its famous Shinto shrine, the Chiryu Daimyojin.