Accession Number1938.4
TitleProcession of Girls with Fuji Foreheads (Fuji bitai hana no gyôretsu)
Artist(s)Utagawa Toyokuni IArtist NationalityJapanese (culture or style)Object Creation Datelate 18th century - early 19th centuryMedium & Supportcolor woodblock print on paper, one of series of fiveDimensions 15 1/16 in. x 10 1/4 in. ( 38.3 cm x 26 cm )
Credit LineMuseum PurchaseLabel copyUtagawa Toyokuni I
Japan, 1769–1825
Procession of Girls with Fuji Foreheads
Edo period (1615–1868)
Late 18th to early 19th century
Color woodblock print on paper
Museum Purchase, 1938.4–8
Mount Fuji was frequently shown in the mass-produced woodblock prints known
as ukiyo-e or “pictures of the floating world.” These prints depicted subjects such as
popular fashions or significant landmarks in the Japanese landscape. This set of five
prints combines these two themes by cleverly pairing a woman sporting a trendy
hairstyle known as the “Fuji forehead” (fuji bitai) with Mount Fuji. The hairstyle
emphasized the pale flatness of the forehead and was produced by pinning the hair
so that it showed off the widow’s peak, creating a shape reminiscent of the famous
mountain. While Mount Fuji was visible from the city of Edo (present-day Tokyo), the
women’s proximity to it suggests the artist deliberately flattened the space to create a
more direct parallel between their hair and the mountain.
Primary Object Classification Print Primary Object Typecolor printCollection AreaAsianRightsIf you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit
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Keywords
walking