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Nikko NP, Tochigi
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Upstream, Choji, Tamasudare and Makkura Falls make up Kirifuri’s “Hidden Three.” Their streams eventually join the same river and flow over Kirifuri Falls.
In an 1833 print, Hokusai shows some travelers looking down at the falls and others gazing up from below—a clever split viewpoint in his 8-print waterfall series.
A 17th–18th-century set of 3 scrolls pairs Kirifuri and Urami Falls with Shinkyo Bridge and Toshogu’s sanctuary, framing the Nikko landmarks as sacred places beneath golden clouds.
Hokusai wasn’t alone: Keisai Eisen and Utagawa Hiroshige II also made 19th-century prints of Kirifuri, making the waterfall a recurring subject for landscape artists.
Kirifuri means “falling mist”: the 2-tier waterfall drops about 75 m, and its name comes from the lower cascade striking rock and scattering into fine spray.
A few minutes from Kirifuri Falls, nearby Tsutsujigaoka has a striking colony of wild yamatsutsuji; akayashio, shiroyashio and Tōgoku-mitsuba azaleas bloom around it too.
