Mariko-juku
Mariko - juku (in Japanese鞠 子 宿/丸子 宿) was the twentieth of the 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō. Their position is in today's Suruga -ku, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
History
Mariko - juku was with about 795 residents a one of the smallest postal stations of the Tōkaidō. Old houses from the Edo period are found in Utsuinotani, which lies between Mariko - juku and the adjacent post office Okabe - juku. The station Mariko had strong connections to the Minamoto clan of Imagawa and Tokugawa.
Representation of Hiroshige
The woodblock print by Hiroshige from the series " The 53 Stations of the Tōkai Street " contains allusions to classical Japanese poetry and literature. Mariko was famous for tororojiru, a mash of barley with grated Aonori and tororo, a kind of potato. This specialty was a poem by the famous Matsuo Bashō - trees wakana / Mariko no shuku / tororojiru ( " blooming plums, sprouting herbs and Mariko 's tororojiru " ) - better known. Also in the novel Tōkaidōchū hizakurige ( " On foot on the Tōkaidō " ) of Jippensha Ikku from the Edo period appear Mariko and his specialty: the two protagonists of the story want to do in Mariko rest and eat tororojiru. The host rub the potatoes and gets with his wife in heated argument because their child begins to cry. The host beats his wife with the grater, after which they pelted him with the porridge. A neighbor is added to settle around and all three slip on the porridge of why the protagonists of the story must go away hungry.
In Hiroshige's presentation can be found next to signs that advertise the courts ( meibutsu tororojiru, dt "specialty tororo soup " ) is a flowering plum tree as a reference to Basho's poem. In addition, two men are seen eating the soup and operated by a woman with a toddler on the back, which is a clear allusion to Jippenshas novel should be, with the difference that the two protagonists get here to eat.