墨の濃淡で表現された宵闇の中を蛍が飛び交い、なめらかな筆づかいで描かれたせせらぎを、女性が渡っています。流れの中にある、石を詰めた竹籠は蛇籠（じゃかご）と呼ばれるもので、水の勢いを弱めるためのものです。
清方は、夏の宵の風景に色味を抑えた装いの女性を描き、自然と人物との調和を図りました。そこには、女性の肌や枇杷文様の羽織の白、着物の文様の細かな白が、柔らかくほのかに浮かび上がるような効果も見られます。
樹木や岩、川の流れの描写には、大正期に探求した風景画の表現や技法がいかされています。

Clear Stream (1929)
color on silk; hanging scroll
129.5 x 41.5 cm
(First exhibited at Tokyokai Shinsaku-ten)

A woman is crossing a small stream depicted with soft brushstrokes as fireflies flit about in the twilight rendered in shades of black ink. The bamboo basket filled with stones and set in the current is a gabion, which serves to soften the force of the water.
By rendering the woman’s clothing in subdued colors in this summer evening scene, Kiyokata has attempted to express harmony between her figure and the natural environment. The woman’s complexion, the white haori coat with its pattern of loquats, and the white detail on the kimono pattern create a soft and slightly floating effect.
Kiyokata has used the expressions and techniques of landscape painting, which were acquired in the Taisho period, to depict the tree, the rocks, and the current in the stream.