Hodogaya on the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō Hodogaya), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)

Hodogaya, one of the well-known fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō road, is located between Musashi, the province in which Edo was located, and Sagami Province to the west. At this point, westbound travelers were said to have finally felt the sensation of having put the metropolis of Edo behind them, for at Hodogaya the road stretches into a beautiful avenue lined with pine trees on both sides. When one travels on foot along a course near a big mountain, one has the feeling that progress is slowed by the overwhelming immobility of the mountain that seems to be eternally watching. This sensation is lyrically expressed in this print. Fuji's immobility is emphasized in contrast to the gentle rhythm of the row of pine trees and the crawling pace of the travelers.

The Metropolitan Museum version of this print, which is differently colored from other known versions, has the small round seal of Tadamasa Hayashi, the famous Japanese art dealer of the early twentieth century who contributed greatly to the international understanding of the art of Hokusai and Hiroshige.