Hiroshige II Utagawa, Kiso Gorge, One Hundred Famous Views in the Various Provinces

As night approaches, a lone traveller ascends the snowy Kiso Gorge. The well trodden routes were express ways between the two prominent cities of Kyoto and Edo, taking everyone from messengers, pilgrims to warlords through Japan’s mountainous landscape. Vibrancy is lent to the pure white scene by the resilient evergreen pines emerging and balancing on the valley sides.