Unuma, pl. 53 from a facsimile edition of Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Highway 

Keisai Eisen's "Unuma" is a woodblock print portraying a scene along the Kiso Highway. The castle, prominently placed, dominates the landscape. These served not only as military fortifications, but also as potent symbols of authority, power, and stability. Consider the recurring motif of fortified structures across cultures: the ziggurats of Mesopotamia, the citadels of ancient Greece, or even the medieval castles of Europe. Each structure reflects a society's need for protection and its aspirations for permanence. But more than this, in their elevation above the everyday, they tap into a collective yearning for safety and order. The castle in "Unuma" also subtly engages our subconscious, evoking a sense of protection and perhaps even longing for a secure place in a world of constant change. Just as ancient walls protected cities, these images protect deeper, psychological longings. This symbol will endure, adapting and resurfacing in different forms across time.