Fudo Falls at Oji

An indigo-blue waterfall runs straight through the center of the picture from top to bottom. A sacred straw rope hung with paper streamers stretches across the top. A man stands in the pool beneath, letting the water pound him; on the riverbank in front, two women look up, and at right a man from a teahouse with rows of benches welcomes customers.

The rock walls flanking the falls are roughly cut with gray lines, while the trees on either side and the background are painted in bright green. The tall vertical format is given over entirely to the height of the falls, and the sharp rocks in the foreground are softened with ocher gradation to create depth, a bold composition. The white spray of the falls is expressed by leaving the paper unprinted.

Around Oji, the Ishigami River cuts through the plateau. Edo residents toured the waterfalls on their way to worship at Oji Inari Shrine or to visit Asukayama. Fudo Falls takes its name from the Fudo image at nearby Shojuin Temple, and in summer it is said to have been crowded with people cooling off under the cascade. Standing beneath the falls as an ascetic practice was also a pleasure for beating the heat.

This print belongs to the summer section. Oji is also represented in the series by "The River of Waterfalls at Oji" and by the New Year's Eve fox fires. A composition devoted to a single large waterfall is rare within the series and is often cited as a prime example of the vertical format put to good use.