Near Umezawa in Sagami Province

葛飾北斎筆 『富嶽三十六景』 「相州梅澤左」

The view of Mount Fuji along the coast in Kanagawa prefecture is said to be particularly dramatic, revealing the mountain’s classic beauty. Hokusai’s design in this print expresses the tranquil mood of Fuji, with its foothills that provide a refuge for cranes, Japan’s most sacred bird. At the foreground stream, bathed in the light of early dawn, five cranes feed and two others fly toward Fuji. The mountain’s majestic cone, deep blue at the bottom and fading to light blue and white at the summit, rises above the green slopes. Hokusai often implies an association between Mount Fuji and the sacred mountains of Chinese mythology, particularly Mount Horai, believed to be in the ocean to the east of China (as is Japan itself). The comparison is made explicit here: Mount Horai’s cliffs were said to be so steep it could only be approached by immortals riding on the backs of cranes.