Station #27: Tateba or dechaya were small, simply built teahouses or refreshment stands. They offered tea, light shelter and were generally located so as to offer a special view of the countryside. On the right, Hiroshige shows two kago bearers who have stopped to rest at this dechaya, perhaps discouraged because they don't have a passenger. Travelers rode inside the basket they slung between their shoulders. Inside the teashop a hikyaku (mail courier) is resting and smoking a pipe, perhaps listening to the bird perched jauntily on the sign post. An old grandmother tends the fire and the tea kettle.

Image Copyright: Minneapolis Institute of Art