
No.3
ๅฑฑไธ็ฝ้จ
Rainstorm Beneath the Summit
View items
Series
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
(ๅฏๅถฝไธๅๅ
ญๆฏ, Fugaku Sanjurokkei)
Woodblock print title
Rainstorm Beneath the Summit
(ๅฑฑไธ็ฝ้จ, Sanka Hakuu)
Artist
Katsushika Hokusai
(่้ฃพๅๆ)
Rainstorm Beneath the Summit is one of the most well-renowned pieces included in the series, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (ๅจๅถฝไธๅๅ ญๆฏ, Fugaku Sanjurokkei), a compilation of 46 woodblock prints and Katsushika Hokusaiโs lifetime masterwork. The ukiyo-e is listed as one of the top three works in the series alongside Under the Wave off Kanagawa (็ฅๅฅๅทๆฒๆตช่ฃ, Kanagawa Oki Nami Ura) and South Wind, Clear Sky (ๅฑ้ขจๅฟซๆด, Gaifu Kaisei).

The composition appears a bit similar to that of South Wind, Clear Sky doesnโt it?

Red Fuji
South Wind, Clear Sky

Black Fuji
Rainstorm Beneath the Summit
While South Wind, Clear Sky is nicknamed the Red Fuji, Rainstorm Beneath the Summit is otherwise called the Black Fuji, and some say that these two could be considered as a pair.
Despite the similarity in the compositions of how the mountain is symbolically represented, the Black Fuji gives off a strikingly different impression than the Red Fuji.
How are they in contrast with each other? Letโs dive deeper to find out.
What does the title mean?
Sanka (ๅฑฑไธ) is an expression to describe the area below or at the foot of a mountain.
Hakuu (็ฝ้จ) refers to evening rain showers or sudden showers.
Where is this located?
Almost all of the 46 titles in the Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji include names of the locations; however, two piecesโโSouth Wind, Clear Sky and Rainstorm Beneath the Summitโโdo not indicate the whereabouts of the scenes, so it is difficult to determine its exact area. It remains uncertain as to where the view was observed from.
The key elements
- Why isnโt the rain illustrated?
- Thunderbolts and cumulus clouds
- Hokusaiโs use of perspective and imagination
1. Why isnโt the rain illustrated?
Why didnโt Hokusai illustrate the actual rainfall even though the title implies the presence of showers?When you look at this scene, you may wonder why the foothills of Mount Fuji are pitch black. This is to suggest that the weather is undesirable.

Standing at an elevation of 3,776 meters, Mount Fuji is the highest peak in Japan.
The summit looms high above the rain clouds, so it will never see wet weather even if itโs raining down below.
So the rainfall is not explicitly illustrated, but viewers can understand that the peak of the mountain remains unchanged while the areas covered in clouds are darkened.
Itโs easy to imagine that there is a shower occurring at the base even though the actual droplets are not drawn in the picture.
2. Thunderbolts and cumulus clouds
In the sky are cumulus clouds rising in large fluffs, and black rain clouds are covering Mount Fuji halfway up its hills. The sharp cracks running down the side of the image represent bolts of lightning.


Then, when you take your eyes to the top of the mountain, the sky is clear and sunny without a cloud in sight.

What this scene portrays is the almighty splendor of nature through Mount Fuji. Hokusai creates a wonderful juxtaposition between the summit, which remains unchanged no matter what the weather conditions may be, and the mountain foot, which presents itself with multiple facets depending on the weather.
3. Hokusaiโs use of perspective and imagination
Although there were no airplanes in the days of Hokusai, the composition of this print suggests that the ukiyo-e master utilized an aerial perspective. It is evident that Hokusai had an extremely creative imagination and mastery to depict the dramatic scenery.

Another point to highlight is the coexistence of stillness and motion as represented by the immovable Mount Fuji and flashes of lightning.
The work combines contrasting elements of earth and heaven, heavy rain and clear skies, and stillness and motion in a single image. The resulting landscape also creates a complementary contrast with South Wind, Clear Sky, revealing Hokusai's imaginative ingenuity.
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