Nihon Bridge and Edo Bridge

At front left a main post of Nihonbashi topped with a giboshi finial stands large, and a plain-wood railing runs diagonally across the bottom of the picture. At lower right a tub holding bonito and the rope of the carrying pole peek in. Between the railing posts the Nihonbashi River can be seen with cargo boats lined up, and farther back Edobashi and a bank lined with white-walled storehouses continue.

Placing the main post and railing extremely large in the foreground and letting the scenery show through the gaps is the composition. The pale crimson of the post, the plain wood of the railing and the blue of the river contrast vividly, and the sky is gradated deep indigo at the top and pale white below.

Nihonbashi was the starting point of the five great highways, and at the north end of the bridge stood the fish market, where large quantities of fish were landed every morning. The first bonito of the season, which appeared in early summer, was a first-of-the-season delicacy that Edoites competed to buy at high prices, and the bonito in the tub is thought to indicate that season.

This is the first print of the Summer section. Showing Nihonbashi not by the famous place itself but by part of the bridge and goods for sale is one of the typical examples of the series' bold close-up compositions. Small birds flying in the sky add the brightness of a morning at the riverbank.