Utagawa Kuniteru, 末廣 養蚕図 綴じ糸, 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, 富士三十六景 武蔵越かや在, 1858
Utagawa Hiroshige, 五十三次名所図会 十四 原 あし鷹山不二眺望, 1855