Keith, it was curvacious... and looked distinctly odd. I try to keep verticals away from the edges, where they get most seriously "bent," and I defish images where this is unavoidable. Waterwheels were the traditional form of power in Japan, and they are often preserved as a visually attractive part of history.
Hi Roger, I wonder what the fished version was like ;-)
As Chris says this is all about the textures, compositionally it struggles a little, but the textures are superb. I remember another waterwheel you showed us, are there a number of these around you ?