Suijin Grove and Massaki on the Sumida River

The gorgeous blossoms of a yaezakura, a late-blooming cherry tree, dominate the upper half of this view, its trunk framing the tranquil scene to the left. On the right, among the grove of trees, is Suijin Shrine. The boat near the bottom left must be the Suijin ferry, which provided a connection to Massaki on the west side, captured mid-left. At top is the luxuriously produced first version of eight, and below is version no. 7. Typical of the first version is the subtle gradation of the blue sky and brown path. Later, all gradation was omitted and the entire design was made much darker.