Hara: Mount Fuji in the Morning

On the flat marsh road at Hara, two women and a porter walk beneath the closest, tallest Fuji of the whole journey — so tall the peak bursts through the printed border at the top of the sheet. It is the boldest compositional stroke in the series: rather than shrink the mountain to fit, Hiroshige lets it break the frame, and every traveler who ever gasped at Hara’s view understands why. Follow the ruled black border along the top of the sheet — Fuji’s summit simply crosses it into the margin; the jagged Ashitaka range at right makes the great cone look calmer still. Some things do not fit inside their frame.

Maker

Utagawa Hiroshige

Date

c. 1833–34

Medium of the original

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Rights

Cleared for print

Catalogue number

PA-00388