Omi Province: Lake Biwa and Ishiyama Temple

At the left of the picture, a tree-covered cliff rises, and at its foot along the shore lines a row of tile-roofed houses. Many boats are moored on the shore, and small boats and sailing ships float on the river as well. In the middle a long bridge spans the river, with a small tree-covered island partway along it.

A full moon floats in the blue sky, and a flock of geese flies diagonally beside it. The river opens onto the lake beyond, and a triangular mountain rises at back right. The whole is unified in the quiet colors of blue and gray, expressing a moonlit night. The pairing of geese and moon is also a set subject for expressing an autumn night.

Ishiyama-dera is an old temple on the bank of the Seta River, and there is a tradition that Murasaki Shikibu began writing The Tale of Genji here. "Autumn Moon at Ishiyama" is one of the Eight Views of Omi and was known as a place for moon viewing. The bridge is thought to be the Kara-hashi at Seta, through which the Tokaido passes, and the mountain at back right Mount Mikami, called Omi Fuji.

Although the title names Lake Biwa and Ishiyama-dera, the temple buildings are not clearly drawn; instead the moon, the geese, and the Kara-hashi gather the mood of the Eight Views of Omi. The impressions at the National Diet Library and the Tokyo National Museum have the same composition.