Thunderstorm Beneath the Summit

At the lower right of the picture, zigzag lightning splits the dark base of the mountain. Near the summit, streaks of snow and reddish-brown slopes can be seen, and behind them spread blue sky and billowing white clouds. The black of the lower slopes becomes redder as it rises, linking through bokashi to the brightness of the summit.

"Hakuu" in the title means a violent summer shower. The contrast of clear weather at the top of the same mountain with rain clouds hanging low and thunder rumbling below speaks of Fuji's size. The viewpoint is placed at almost the same height as the summit, in a composition that seems to look down on the mountain from the sky.

Like "Fine Wind, Clear Morning," it builds the picture from the mountain and the weather alone, without any people or houses. Against the "Red Fuji" of "Fine Wind, Clear Morning," this print has been called "Black Fuji." Placing the two side by side shows clearly how the same triangular mountain is depicted in opposite scenes, a clear morning and an evening shower. The Tokyo Fuji Art Museum counts this print, together with "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" and "Fine Wind, Clear Morning," among the three great masterpieces of the series.