Lit. going down to the East. In the pre-Edo periods, traveling from the capital city of Kyoto toward the Eastern provinces along the Eastern Sea Road, Tōkaidō 東海道. More specifically, however, it refers to a journey of Ariwara no Narihira 在原業平 (825-80), "Narihira's Journey to the East" as described in Episode 9 of Ise monogatari 伊勢物語 (The Tales of Ise). While this chapter includes several episodes, including *Yatsuhashi 八橋, *Tsuta-no-hosomichi 蔦の細道, Mt. Fuji 富士, and the Sumida River *Sumidagawa 隅田川, generally only the third of these—seeing Mt. Fuji from the road to Suruga 駿河 Province—is referred to by the term, Azumakudari. The text reads:
At Mount Fuji a pure white snow had fallen, even though it was the end of the Fifth Month. (Narihira composed a poem)
時知らぬ Toki shiranu
山は富士の嶺 yama wa Fuji no ne
いつとてか itsutoteka
かのこまだらに kanoko madarani
雪の降るらん yuki no fururanFuji is a mountain
That knows no seasons
What time does it take this for
That it should be dappled
With fallen snow?— Translated by McCullough
The standard iconography, which can be traced back to the early 14th century, shows Narihira on horse-back with his attendants and companions, as Mt. Fuji towers in the background. A well-known example of this theme is a hanging scroll painting by Ogata Kōrin 尾形光琳 (1658-1716) in the Gotō 五島 Museum, Tokyo.
