The woodcut print shown here depicts a rural idyll northwest of Edo. A meandering river nourishes an expanse of rice paddies on the left-hand side. Two men are crossing a bridge, and more people are walking by the riverside. On the rising ground behind them, a cluster of thatched houses identified as "Ryuge-an (Dragon's Retreat)" nestles amid pine trees.
To the left, there is a shrine dedicated to the god of water, while on the upper right there are a few more huts, labeled "Basho-do (Hall of Basho)" and "Samidare-zuka (May-rain Stone)."
The river is the Kanda, an important drinking-water resource for the citizens of Edo, whose source is Inokashira Pond in Mitaka, western Tokyo. In another 1830s' rendition of the area, the same artist, Hasegawa Settan, depicts a large stone dam, where the river water used to enter a canal that ran about 5 km to the city's northern border. Hence the area was named Sekiguchi, meaning "the mouth of the dam."