The Dam on the Otonashi River at Oji, Commonly Called "The Great Waterfall"

A wide weir stands at the back of the picture, with white water falling across its whole width. In the stream below, people bathing can be seen, and the river curves widely toward the foreground. On the left bank are the roofs of teahouses and cherries, and on the right bank cedars and pines grow thick.

The blue arc of the river runs diagonally through the picture, framed by the green of the banks and the white of the cherries. The viewpoint looking down presents the flow from the weir to the foreground as one continuous scene.

Otonashi River is the name for the Shakujii River around Oji, said to have been named after the Otonashi River in Kii. The water falling from the weir was called the Great Waterfall and drew crowds seeking coolness in summer. Oji was an excursion spot in Edo's suburbs with many waterfalls and teahouses.

This is the nineteenth print of the Spring section. The prints of Oji's famous places continue from Asukayama, and together with the Summer section's Fudo Falls at Oji they show the waterside scenery of Oji. The censor's seal dates it to February 1857 (Ansei 4). With the river bent widely and drawn toward the foreground, it is a cool-looking print that makes one feel the sound of the falls and the spray.