The Moon Pine on the Temple Grounds at Ueno

Filling the picture are the thick trunk and branches of a pine, one branch of which forms a large circle. Inside and below the circle can be seen the surface of Shinobazu Pond, the building on Benten Island floating in the pond, and the houses and woods on the far shore. The sky is a sunset, faintly stained red toward the bottom.

The brown pine is placed large in front, and its circle of branch is used like a window to show the distant view. The pale blue of the sky, the indigo of the pond, and the red of sunset convey the quiet of an autumn dusk.

The Moon Pine was a renowned tree in front of Kiyomizu Kannon Hall at Kaneiji, known for the conceit of viewing the moon through its ring-shaped branch. Kaneiji was the family temple of the Tokugawa shoguns, and the hill of Ueno was cherished by the people of Edo as a famous site for cherry blossoms and the lotuses of Shinobazu Pond.

It is known as one of the series' most striking compositions. The device of using the pine's circle as a picture frame well shows Hiroshige's method of dividing scenery with objects in front. The spring section also has a print of Kiyomizu Hall and Shinobazu Pond at Ueno, depicting the same place in different seasons.