Asuka Hill (Asukayama), from vol. 1 of the illustrated book "Fine Views of the Eastern Capital at a Glance (Toto shokei ichiran)"

Asuka Hill (Asukayama) is a Katsushika Hokusai illustration from Volume 1 of the picture book Fine Views of the Eastern Capital at a Glance (Toto shokei ichiran), dated to around 1800 and held at the Art Institute of Chicago. Toto shokei ichiran is one of Hokusai's important early surveys of Edo's famous scenic sites, structured to give the reader a tour of celebrated places in and around the eastern capital. Asukayama, a low hill north of central Edo, became one of the most beloved spring destinations in the city after the eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune planted it with cherry trees and opened it to commoners in the eighteenth century. Hokusai's illustration captures the seasonal bustle of cherry-blossom viewing, with families spreading mats, vendors hawking food and drink, and groups of friends lifting cups beneath the flowering branches. As an Edo ukiyo-e book illustration, the design combines a careful sense of place with a panoramic view of human activity, allowing the page to function both as topography and as social portrait. The monochrome printing, fine line work, and crowd choreography exemplify Hokusai's command of the ehon format, and the image preserves a vivid record of how Edoites enjoyed seasonal public spaces, anchoring Asukayama in the wider imaginative map of the city.