The moon at high tide, from the series One hundred aspects of the moon

The old couple are Uba and Jō from the nō play 'Takasago'. They represent the spirits of two ancient pine trees at Takasago and Sumiyoshi who have remained spiritually close and loyal to each other despite the distance between them. The twin pine trees symbolise the fulfilment of a long, happy marriage. Even though the moon is nowhere to be seen in this image, the audience of the time could identify the print as an illustration of the scene in which the old man is looking at the moon and the woman is checking the tide before they sail away to Sumiyoshi.