Fuji at Daybreak (Akatsuki no Fuji): Detatched page from One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku hyakkei) Vol. 3 c. 1835 - 1847

Editor: This is “Fuji at Daybreak” by Hokusai, a page from his “One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji.” It's so striking! The figures seem to be rushing, or fleeing something, even as Mount Fuji looms serenely. What secrets do you think this image holds? Curator: Secrets? Perhaps. Or maybe just a whisper of everyday life against the backdrop of the sublime. Those figures, are they running *from* something, or *towards* something? Maybe they’re simply late for work! Hokusai often played with scale like this, reminding us of our own fleeting presence. Editor: I never thought of it that way! I was so focused on the implied narrative, I missed the deeper commentary. Curator: Art is just like that—a rabbit hole of perspectives. What you bring to it is just as valid as what Hokusai might have intended. Editor: I guess I'll have to ponder if they're running toward or from something!