Moon on the Arakawa River in Akabane (Arakawa no tsuki [Akabane]), from the series Twenty Views of Tokyo (Tôkyô nijûkei)

Published within the Twenty Views of Tokyo (Tôkyô nijûkei) series under the Watanabe Shozaburo imprint, this print shows the Arakawa River at Akabane in northern Tokyo under moonlight. The Arakawa, a major river that defined the northeastern boundary of the old city, offered Hasui an expansive horizontal format with reflective water occupying a substantial portion of the composition. The moon's image mirrors in the river current, broken by gentle rippling into elongated silver strokes. Fishing boats or low-profile river craft are likely moored or drifting in the middle ground, their dark silhouettes contrasting with the luminous water surface. The far bank recedes into darkness or mist. The print exemplifies Hasui's skill in depicting urban waterways and their relationship to the night sky, a theme running throughout the Twenty Views series.