Utagawa Hiroshige III
1871 (Meiji 4)
Donated by Tanba Tsuneo
As holy priest Genyo undertook his proselytizing work in various regions, the excavation of new roads was happening in a great hurry, pushing forwards towards linking Kayabe on Hokkaido’s southern Oshima Peninsula and Sapporo.
Around 55,300 people were employed working on the roads. In addition to the monks from Higashi Hongan-ji Temple, there were immigrants of samurai stock from the Date family (from the Watari Domain, a sub-domain of Sendai) and Ainu people involved as well.