The scene depicted in this uchiwa-e (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is set in a restaurant or similar establishment on the upper reaches of the Sumida river. The absence of light on most of the opposite bank tells us that we are looking east at the Mukojima district from the vicinity of the Massaki Shrine in the northern part of Edo's Imado Asakusa district. The woman with the lantern and umbrella is in the process of escorting the female guest on the bridge down a flight of steps to a boat waiting at the water's edge. The composition derives its particular appeal from the way in which the night view is framed within the geometry of an architectural structure partially cut off by the rounded corners of the fan. The design is one of a complete set of eight prints owned by the V&A. The Hakkei ('Eight Views') formula was a popular one, having its ultimate source in Chinese paintings of the Xiao and Xiang rivers. It was originally used in Japan in the form of poetic and painterly references to eight famous sites around Lake Biwa in south-west Japan’s Omi Province (modern Shiga Prefecture).