Skip Navigation

Fudo Falls, Oji, No. 49 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

Utagawa Hiroshige

Asian Art

In the rainy summer months, the Otonashi River plunged from a projecting bluff of the Musashi Plain in dozens of small cascades. Some of these came to be singled out as the "Seven Falls of Ōji," with the Fūdo Falls as the best known of the seven for its religious, curative, and scenic allure. The two bathing men partake of the spring's healing powers. One man gingerly tests the water, while another at shoreside reaches for a cup of hot tea from an old woman.

MEDIUM Woodblock print
  • Place Made: Japan
  • DATES 9th month of 1857
    PERIOD Edo Period, Ansei Era
    DIMENSIONS Sheet: 14 1/4 x 9 5/16 in. (36.2 x 23.7 cm) Image: 13 x 8 1/2 in. (33 x 21.6 cm)  (show scale)
    MARKINGS Publisher: Shitaya Uo Ei
    SIGNATURE Hiroshige-ga
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 30.1478.49
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Anna Ferris
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Summer scene of Fudo Falls in the oji area, one of the better known of the "Seven Falls of Oji," acclaimed for its religious, curative, as well as scenic qualities. Those visiting the falls for the religious reasons approached through the precincts of the Shojuin Temple, founded in the sixteenth century by a holy man who practiced the way of Fudo ("unmovable"), a Buddhist deity, depicted as wreathed in flame and grasping a sword in his right hand. An image of Fudo was placed to the right of the waterfall (not shown in this print). A "shimenawa" rope above sets off the sacred place, which serves to illustrate that Buddhism and Shinto cannot be separated. The curative power of the spring is shown by two men bathing in its waters, which were said to relieve almost any ailment. One man is shown testing the water, while the other reaches for a cup of hot tea from the old woman who makes her living by the falls. Two women dressed for a summer outing admire the scenery, a secluded setting densely shadowed with green trees, with little sunlight and few people. The Fudo Falls survived into the twentieth century. The Takinogawa Middle School was constructed here in the 1950's, although various Fudo images may still be seen on the grounds of the Shojuin Temple.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797-1858). Fudo Falls, Oji, No. 49 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 9th month of 1857. Woodblock print, Sheet: 14 1/4 x 9 5/16 in. (36.2 x 23.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.49 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 30.1478.49_PS20.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 30.1478.49_PS20.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2023
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions
    This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.