Pilgrim's Markers Fluttering into the Sea below the Bridge near Tsukuda Island, from the series Famous Views of the Eastern Capital

A single boat passes beneath a giant bridge. This bridge is the Eitai, which spanned the Sumida River in Edo near its mouth. The island seen beyond the bridge is Tsukuda. Against the massive forms of the bridge’s piers, the slow-moving boat adds movement and the undulating clouds and shadows define the light to keep the composition from becoming dull or monotonous. The slips of paper falling from the top of the bridge are a part of Buddhist services that must be occurring above, offering prayers for the spirits of those who have drowned.