Moonlit night at the Suehiro Bridge at Mt. Tenpo

In this second print from the series Scenic Views of Mt. Tenpō (see no. 123), Gakutei offers a close-up view of merrymakers on their way to sample the delights of Osaka’s newest entertainment district. The river is calm, and an enormous full moon rises in the night sky, as a roofed pleasure boat bearing a man and two female companions is poled beneath Suehiro Bridge. Gnarled pine branches frame the scene, enhancing the dramatic perspective of the sharply rising prow and the curving timbers underneath the bridge. A simple palette of bright yellow, green, brown, and gray effectively unifies these elements, which fit together like the pieces of an interlocking puzzle.
The Suehiro Bridge marked the northern entry into a network of channels surrounding Mt. Tenpō. According to Timothy Clark, the 1835 illustrated gazetteer Famous Views of Mt. Tenpō (Tenpōan meisho zue) commented on its unusual construction, which apparently lacked the supporting pillars shown in this print.