The “Mu Tamagawa”, Six Tama (Jewel) Rivers were known as famed places in poetry from ancient times, namely Ide, Hagi, Chidori, Kōya, Chōfu and Tōi, and were also familiar as subjects in Ukiyo-e. This picture is presently mounted as a hanging scroll, although originally it and another five illustrations would have likely been adhered to a six-panel folding screen in the form of a “Oshie bari byōbu”, folding screen pasted with pictures. At present, there is confirmation of the existence of four of the other illustrations, “Hagi no Tamagawa (The Tama River at Hagi)”, “Tōi no Tamagawa (The Tama River at Tōi)”, “Chidori no Tamagawa (The Tama River at Chidori)”, and “Chōfu no Tamagawa (The Tama River at Chōfu)”.
“The Tama River at Ide” is inspired by the poem by Fujiwara no Shunzei, “Uma tomete, nao mizu kawan, yamabuki no, hana no tsuyu sofu, Ide no tamagawa (I stop my horse, and have him drink for a time, where the dew falls, from the kerria flowers, at the Tamagawa in Ide)” (in Shin Kokinshū). There are many examples where a character is depicted riding his horse crossing the shallows of the river where kerria flowers are in bloom, but Hokusai paints it as a scene of workers carrying a young noble. It is estimated to be an artwork from when he had just begun to use the artist name Hokusai, and is a fascinating work in detailed and crisp painting style.