Famous Places of the National Provinces of Great Japan – Matsumae, in the Northern Lands of Mutsu Province

Utagawa Sadahide 

1868 (Meiji 1)

Donated by Tanba Tsuneo 

Matsumae was Hokkaido’s sole castle town. It prospered as a political, economic, and cultural center. This image allows us to view the mountain ranges of Tsugaru (in Aomori Prefecture), centered around Iwakiyama, from the other side of the straits, and bears the inscription ”this sea separates the lands by more than eight ri (Japanese leagues, 2.44 miles).”