Often used as a theme in Edo art, the Mutamagawa "The six jewel [or crystal] rivers" are six rivers of the same name in different provinces each of which is linked to a classical poem. In this example the poem is by Fujiwara no Shunzei (1114-1204), or Toshinari, who was a renowned poet and editor of the Senzai wakashu at the direction of the Emperor Go-Shirakawa. This poem is listed in the anthology Shin kokinshuII, 159 and has been translated by David B. Waterhouse in his Harunobu and his age, London, 1964 thus:
koma tomete/nao mizukawan/yamabuki no/hana no tsuyu sou/
Ide no tamagawa
I'll halt my pony/and water him again, where/the yamabuki/
flowers mingle dewdrops with the/Crystal River of Ide

Another impression sold in these rooms September 28, 1981, lot 42