As I get older, I feel more and more connected to nature. It’s the place where I can reliably find peace and beauty—without being asked to perform, prove, or explain anything.
Ancient Chinese have a line I love:
“天地有大美而不言”
Heaven and earth possess great beauty, yet do not speak of it.
Nature doesn’t advertise. It doesn’t persuade. It doesn’t brag. It simply is—and that quietness is part of its authority.
When we are in nature, we feel how small we are. Not in a depressing way, but in a clarifying way. We’re not unstoppable. We’re not the center. Our plans aren’t as solid as we think. And somehow, that truth clears the mind. It makes us humbler, calmer, and more respectful—because the world is vast, and we’re only passing through it.
That feeling is exactly why I wanted to paint Kirifuri Waterfall at Mount Kurokami in Shimotsuke Province.
The waterfall that refuses to behave
I’ve always loved the moments in ukiyo-e where nature isn’t “pretty” or obedient. It’s active—almost stubborn. In Hokusai’s Kirifuri waterfall, the water doesn’t fall in a single neat ribbon. It splits, braids, spreads, and chooses its own path down the rock face.
It’s not trying to look graceful.
It’s just doing what water does.
That refusal to behave is what makes it feel alive.
The detail that makes it human: the tiny people
What I love most is that Hokusai didn’t give us only a waterfall. He gave us witnesses—small travelers at the base, looking up. They don’t “conquer” the scene. They simply stand there and stare. You can almost feel the quiet in their posture.
In my watercolor version, I kept those figures because they carry the emotional truth of the image: when nature shows its scale, the human response isn’t always fear—it can also be wonder, stillness, and a kind of grateful humility.
This is the part that feels closest to my own experience: when you’re standing in front of something real—water, rock, forest, sky—your mind becomes clearer because your ego becomes smaller.
About the painting
This is an original watercolor, 18” × 24”, unframed, priced at $380.
It’s large enough to hold a wall as a quiet statement piece, but intimate enough that the small travelers and the rock textures still matter when you step closer.
If you’d like to bring this waterfall home, it’s here:
https://art4ma.com/shop/kirifuri-waterfall-at-mount-kurokami-in-shimotsuke-province/
