Mount Fuji and Nihondaira

Description

Koichi Okada depicts Mount Fuji as seen from the Nihondaira plateau, which is elevated considerably above its surroundings. As such, one can see Mount Fuji towering in the distance over the ancient Shimizu harbor at night. The Nihondaira plateau is known for providing one of the best scenic views, and one might wonder why it hasn't been used more often by Japanese woodblock print artists to depict Mount Fuji. Fortunately, Koichi Okada chose this location, even though the presence of the Shimizu harbor meant that the scene would be more modern than the other scenes in his “Twelve Views of Japan” series, resulting in one of his best prints.