View of Tsukuda Island from Eitai Bridge

A thick pier of Eitai Bridge stands at left and a slanting girder presses in at lower right, with the night sea spreading between them. A fire burns in a small boat in the middle, its red light trembling on the water. At right lie cargo ships with their sails lowered, and near the horizon in the distance the houses of Tsukudajima appear small.

The sky is gradated from deep indigo to a lighter tone near the horizon, scattered with a crescent moon and fine stars. Dividing the foreground with a huge pillar and placing the distant island small creates a contrast of near and far that strengthens the sense of the night sea's expanse.

Eitai Bridge was a long bridge near the mouth of the Sumida River, and Tsukudajima was an island of fishermen who had moved from Tsukuda village in Settsu. The fishing of whitebait by torchlight from winter into spring was a well-known specialty of Tsukuda.

This is the fourth print of the Spring section. The composition that places a bridge or pillar large in the foreground and lets the scenery show through is used repeatedly in the series, and this print is considered one of its representative examples. The censor's seal dates it to February 1857 (Ansei 4). The series has several night scenes printed in deep indigo, and this is the one in which the stillness is most striking. Even the printing of the wood grain on the foreground pillar shows the fine skill of the carving and printing.