The Amida Falls in the Far Reaches of the Kisokaidō (Kisoji no oku Amida-ga-taki)

Artist Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (Japanese, 1760–1849)

Dateabout 1833

Mediumwoodblock print; ink and color on paper

DimensionsVertical ōban: 37.8 x 25.4 cm (14 7/8 x 10 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection

Terms

Japanese Print

Object number1901.735

Label TextThe Amida Waterfall (197 ft high and 23 ft wide) is located just south-west of Mount Dainichi, in the mountainous area north-west of Gujo city, Gifu Prefecture. In Hokusai’s time one would have had to travel northwards for about a day to reach the falls from Ota station, Mino Province (now Minokamo City, Gifu Prefecture) on the Kisokaido road. According to a legend the falls were discovered by the Buddhist monk Taicho (682–767 A.D.), the first person to climb Mount Dainichi. Its original name ‘Long Falls’ (Choro) was changed when a monk saw the face of Amida Buddha (The Buddha of Limitless Light) in a mirror when he lit the ritual fire ("goma") at these falls. This led to the belief that the deity who lived in the waterfall was an incarnation of Amida and the site acquired sacred status for the monks leading ascetic lives in the mountains. Hokusai focuses on the upper part of the falls, set in a dark gorge and framed by sinuous outlines of steep, undercut cliffs. He depicts the scene by combining a low view point looking upwards, with a ‘bird’s-eye-view’ of the circular hollow of ‘marbled’ water. The waters transform as they suddenly fall, in white spray, and radiate into numerous small streams (like the brilliance emitted by the ‘third eye’ of Amida’s forehead). A pine tree clings precariously to the cliff on the right, directing the viewer’s attention to the outcrop where two men enjoy their special vantage point amidst such grand scenery, as their servant fans the fire to heat water for tea.

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