Fukagawa Susaki and Jumantsubo

At the top of the picture an eagle with wings spread turns its head downward as if searching for prey. Below it spread the snowy plain of Jumantsubo and the seashore, with something like a tub floating on the water. On the far horizon a snow-covered mountain appears small and white. The viewer looks down on the winter plain from the same height as the eagle.

The picture is unified by three elements: the dark brown feathers of the eagle, the indigo sky, and the white snowfield. Drawing the bird large and the ground small to show height and breadth at once, it is an especially bold composition even within this series. The fine detailing of the feathers also shows the printers' skill.

Jumantsubo was a new field developed during the Kyoho era by reclaiming the seashore east of Fukagawa, and was called Jumantsubo ("one hundred thousand tsubo") for its size. A lonely place with few people, it is thought to have been where birds gathered in winter. The distant mountain is said to be Mt. Tsukuba.

This print belongs to the winter section and, together with the cranes of "Minowa, Kanasugi, Mikawashima," is a leading example of the prints that make a bird the protagonist. Many impressions also survive in museums abroad, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.