Mount Fuji is Japan’s highest mountain, standing at 12,389.2 feet, or 3,776.24 meters, and is located about 60 miles southwest of Tokyo. An active volcano that last erupted between 1707 and 1708, the peak is famous for its perfectly symmetrical conical form, which has been the subject of many paintings and prints and also of reverence as a powerful sacred site. For centuries, the mountain has been visited by pilgrims, climbers and sightseers, and many of the surrounding towns have hosted these travelers, offering food, lodgings and a chance to dip in the local hot springs that abound in this volcanic landscape. It was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List as a Cultural Site in 2013.
Learn more about the Mt. Fuji area introduced in the NATURE/SUPERNATURE exhibition here:
● NATURE/SUPERNATURE Exhibition
The power and beauty of nature has been a central focus in Japanese culture, rooted in the belief that supernatural forces and beings are at work in all aspects of the natural realm. For centuries, Japanese artists and artisans have illustrated these themes, reaching new heights in the Edo (1603-1868) and Meiji (1868-1912) eras with the rise of woodblock printing.
This exhibition of over sixty Japanese prints from the Scripps College collection in Claremont, CA features works by some of Japan’s finest artists such as Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) and Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) portraying not only gorgeous vistas of the Japanese landscape, but also the fascinating deities and supernatural creatures that were believed to inhabit and influence nature – from ghosts to shape-shifting animals to trickster spirits. The three sections of the exhibition delve into these images of the natural world and its supernatural dimensions, as well as the evolution of new woodblock printing techniques as one of the world’s first forms of “mass media.”
Explore the free exhibition and sign up for programs at
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