Background
Without denying the debt owed to the Edo master, there has been some debate over whether to judge Sadanobu's efforts in this and related series as mere copying of Hiroshige or as a reworking of his imagery and style to reflect Sadanobu's intimate knowledge of the Kamigata region. The scholar Matsudaira Susumu believed that other influences included ehon meisho (illustrated books of famous places: 絵本名所) by such Kamigata artists as Shunchôsai whose designs often featured written commentaries and contemplative style was similar to many Sadanobu fûkeiga (landscape prints: 風景画).*
Design
The original wrapper for this series had a more complete title: Naniwa hyakkei meisho shashin kagami (A Mirror of 100 Famous Views of Osaka — Truthfully Copied: 浪花百景名所写真鏡); the series was never completed — approximately 63 designs known. This evocative rain scene is unquestionably one of the best designs in the series. Framed by the masts and ropes of a cargo vessel, we can see in the distance, through a heavy downpour, a guardhouse at the convergence of the Aji and Kizu Rivers. The outpost was torn down in 1864.
Although quite different in most of its details, Sadanobu's design was possibly inspired by Utagawa Hiroshige's Teppô Inaribashi Minato Jinja from the celebrated Meisho Edo hyakkei.
References: HSH, no. 181 (series)*
中判（17.5 x 25.0 cm）
摺り、色共に極良。保存状態良。（裏打ちなし。複数小さい虫食穴補修済。端に非常にうすいシミ。）
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