The Eight Views of the Xiao-Xiang Region was a well-established subject imported from China long before the artist created this version. Traditionally, depictions of Chinese river scenes were rendered as a series of eight separate paintings. For this painting, the artist blended the eight views from different seasons and times of day into the same painting, creating a new Japanese style. This harmonious blending is characteristic of Japanese art; unlike Chinese paintings that emphasize the integrity of the individual scene, Japanese scrolls often evoke the Zen idea of multiplicity distilled in a single work. Scrolls like this one would have been admired at places such as temples and wabi tea ceremonies.