![Utagawa Hiroshige, Yoshiwara: The Field of Floating Islands in the Fuji Marshes, no. 15 from the series Collection of Illustrations of Famous Places near the Fifty-Three Stations [Along the Tōkaidō], 1855](https://iiif.micr.io/ezAzc/full/2000,/0/default.webp)
Utagawa Kuniteru, Winding the Thread, from the series Fans and Illustrations of Silk Farming, 1862
Playing with proportions
In their prints, artists played with the proportions of Mount Fuji. The mountain is sometimes the main subject of a print, but landscape prints are often also a bit like picture puzzles, with a mini Mount Fuji somewhere in the background.
Fuji everywhere
Mount Fuji was so important to Japanese culture and the Japanese identity, that it even appears where you would not expect to find it. For example, Hiroshige positioned the mountain in landscapes in which – in reality – it did not belong. Mount Fuji is also often found in the background of portraits and interior scenes.
Utagawa Hiroshige, The Outskirts of Koshigaya in Musashi Province, from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, 1858
![Utagawa Hiroshige, Hara: View of the Ashitaka Mountains and Mount Fuji, no. 14 from the series Collection of Illustrations of Famous Places near the Fifty-Three Stations [Along the Tōkaidō], 1855](https://iiif.micr.io/tYcKv/full/2000,/0/default.webp)
Utagawa Hiroshige, Hara: View of the Ashitaka Mountains and Mount Fuji, no. 14 from the series Collection of Illustrations of Famous Places near the Fifty-Three Stations [Along the Tōkaidō], 1855