On Top and Beneath Ryōgoku Bridge

On Top and Beneath Ryōgoku Bridge (両国橋上下 Ryōgoku-bashi ue-shita) is a picture made up of six prints designed by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Utamaro and published in c. 1795–96.

The scene depicts numerous people—mainly elegantly-dressed women of various social classes—on outings at Ryōgoku Bridge over the Sumida River in Edo (modern Tokyo).

Ukiyo-e art flourished in Japan during the Edo period from the 17th to 19th centuries, and took as its primary subjects courtesans, kabuki actors, and others associated with the "floating world" lifestyle of the pleasure districts.

[4] Utamaro experimented with line, colour, and printing techniques to bring out subtle differences in the features, expressions, and backdrops of subjects from a wide variety of class and background.

The women in the upper left are women-in-waiting from a feudal lord's palace, and are wearing age-bōshi[b] head-dresses, which were popular during Japan's Edo period.

[9] Behind the woman furthest to the right holding a round hand fan can be seen a water-seller's equipment; fresh water was scarce in the area, as it was made from reclaimed land by the ocean.

[6] Amongst the women are two handsome young men, one guiding the choki-bune to the left with a pole, and another lazing atop the covered boat to the right, pipe in hand.