Tsukudajima from Eitai Bridge, from the series One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo

This woodblock print is from the series of landscape views of Edo, present-day Tokyo, from Hiroshige’s late career. The series title is in the dark red rectangular cartouche on the upper right, while the name of the print is in the pink square. Although Tsukudajima and Eitai Bridge are important enough to merit mentions in the title, the island is tiny and in the distance at the mouth of the river, and only part of a bridge piling is visible. Hiroshige’s dramatic composition instead foregrounds the oar of a passing boat. Other vessels in the middle distance moored under the starry sky. Fishing boats with burning torches to attract fish ply the water both near the bridge and beyond the island.