Book excerpt: Mount Fuji has always stirred the imagination of artists. Many Japanese print artists, including some of the greatest, such as Hokusai and Hiroshige, have attempted to capture the spirit of the mountain in their designs. This book offers an overview of the many faces of Mount Fuji as seen through the eyes of such artists. The introduction focuses on Mount Fuji in mythology, early portrayal, pilgrimage history, and its depiction in Japanese prints -- in particular, in the work of Hokusai and Hiroshige. The book also contains chapters on Mount Fuji seen from the Ttkaidt, Fuji and the "Ch{shingura" drama, Fuji and poetry ("surimono"), Fuji seen from Edo (present-day Tokyo) and "The thirty-six views of Mount Fuji."