Eight Views of the Ryukyu Islands: The Sacred Spring at Jogaku

From the middle of a hill covered in pine trees, a thin waterfall falls in white and pours into a blue pond. In the pine grove at the right can be seen a small gate with a blue roof, and white clouds trail across various parts of the hill. In the foreground a watercourse and a path wind on, and across the sea at the back left a small red conical mountain is painted.

Jogaku (Jogaku Hill) is a small rise south of Naha's urban area, said to have been known in the days of the kingdom as a scenic spot where a spring welled up. Hokusai did not visit this place, and is thought to have drawn it using illustrations in the book of a Qing investiture envoy as clues. Rather than the actual terrain, the composition resembles a Chinese-style landscape painting, with clouds and pines layered together.

The eight designs of "Eight Views of the Ryukyu Islands" were published around 1832 (Tenpo 3). The publication is said to have coincided with the year a Ryukyuan embassy visited Edo, and it conveyed scenery of a distant southern kingdom to the people of Edo. The Urasoe Art Museum in Urasoe, Okinawa, owns the complete set of eight designs and shows them in special exhibitions and elsewhere. The image is an impression owned by the Art Institute of Chicago.