Mt. Fuji, Japan’s highest mountain, appeared in most Japanese 19th-century travel literature. Maps sometimes showed its location with a Fuji-shaped icon and indicated where travelers could get the best view of it. Between 1829 and 1833, Hokusai created a print series depicting thirty-six views of the mountain, including this one, sometimes known as “Red Fuji.” The season in this scene is a time between late summer and early autumn, when the mountain takes on a reddish hue.

Mt. Fuji, Japan’s highest mountain, appeared in most 18th-century travel literature. Maps sometimes situated Mt. Fuji’s icon to designate its actual geographical location and to indicate where travelers could get the best view of this cone-shaped mountain. Between 1829 and 1833, Hokusai created the ...