Fudō Falls, Ōji

The artwork

A column of blue water falls straight down between green rocks, and below a man steps into the pool while another waits for his tea. You receive it printed on handmade Amalfi paper, in a handmade frame.

• The blue of the waterfall, the green of the woods and the small figures at the foot of the rocks.
• A pure vertical, perfect for a narrow wall or a hallway.
• A gift for anyone who loves nature and Japan.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), the best loved landscape artist of Japan, published it in 1857 in the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, the series devoted to the city we now call Tokyo. Ōji was a village north of the city. In the rainy months the Otonashi River fell from the plateau in many small cascades, and seven of them were famous. Fudō Falls was the best known, because its waters were believed to be good for body and spirit; it bears the name of Fudō, a protective deity of Buddhism.

Hiroshige closes the scene inside a deep gorge and lets the waterfall cut it from top to bottom: that is why the vertical print works so well. At the top a sacred rope with paper strips marks the place as holy, and below two women visitors arrive while an old woman serves tea to the bathers. Our reproduction comes from the impression in the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

In a study or an entrance hall it brings the freshness of water. A gift for anyone looking for a restful image.

Unique quality material

Print on handmade Amalfi paper
Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in)
With frame: 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in)
Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges
Frame: dark brown with gold fillet, handmade, with glass