[Mt.Fuji] The Mountain of Inspiration

Mt.Fuji■The Mountain of Inspiration

The beautiful form of Mt. Fuji has inspired creativity and given rise to numerous works of art.

Mt. Fuji in Art
Holding an iconic place in Japanese scenery, the beauty of Mt. Fuji has for many ages been painted by artists and celebrated in poetry and song. Ukiyo-e prints like Katsushika Hokusai’s ‘The Thirty-Six Views of Fuji’ and Utagawa Hiroshige’s ‘Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji’ picture the mountain from different angles. A show of such prints at the Paris Exposition of 1867 brought them to the attention of the world, and they exerted a tremendous influence on artists everywhere. Van Gogh’s Le père Tanguy poses its subject against a backdrop of ukiyo-e prints, symbolizing the artist’s admiration for Japan, and includes a Hiroshige view of Mt. Fuji. The composer Debussy’s La Mer was inspired by Hokusai’s ‘Great Wave off Kanagawa’ from his ‘Thirty-Six Views’. The majestic and beautiful form of Mt. Fuji has transcended time and crossed oceans and never ceases to inspire creativity everywhere.