Mitsuke post town, which is located halfway between Edo and Kyoto ? about 60 ri (approximately 236 km) from the two cities ? is known as Iwata City today. The Tenryu River originates in Lake Suwa in Shinshu (the present Nagano Prefecture). Because Mitsuke was close to the mouth of the river, ferryboats were necessary to make the crossing. The contrast between the close-up portrayal of two ferryboats and two boatmen, and a distant view of two rows of misty mountains gives depth to this picture. The long bamboo pole held by the boatman in the foreground is the only vertical line in the whole print.