Abstract
Isabella Bird’s journey in Japan （1878） and her travelogue, Unbeaten Tracks in Japan（2 vols, 1880）,
is her most important work – indeed, her masterpiece, marking her out as one of the most outstanding travelers
of all time. However, in 1885, a single-volume abridged edition was published replacing the original two-volume
work, thereby denying her readership the full record of her original journey and prompting endless misunderstanding thereafter.
In 2014, I publishedIsabella Bird to Nihon no Tabi （English edition Isabella Bird and Japan: A Reassessment,
2017） through which I was able to reinstate the truth about what really took place. Based on the fact that my research has received international recognition, this paper focuses on the mystery surrounding the illustration of Mt.
Fuji, which appears at the beginning of her travelogue, through an in-depth analysis of Bird’s mind-set and her earlier experiences.
The fact that the Mt. Fuji illustration looks like the Matterhorn is entirely due to ‘Mountain Jim’ who was
Bird’s companion for her Rocky Mountain trip in 1873 and helped her climb Long’s Peak, known as the American Matterhorn at that time. After receiving the tragic news that Jim had been shot and killed by Griffith Evans, Bird
was evidently traumatised and recorded how, when at her hotel in Interlaken, Jim briefly appeared in a vision in
front of her, bowed and disappeared.
Prior to leaving for Japan, Bird wrote a series of 17 papers in quick succession about her trip to the Rocky Mountains which were serialized inLeisure Hour magazine in England while she was away. Thus, the Fuji ‘Matterhorn’
illustration was Bird’s way of expressing her emotional feelings for Jim as she travelled around Japan.
In this article, my intention is to provide a scientific basis for my analysis by focusing on the iconographic significance of several related illustrations of Mt. Fuji, supported by relevant research. This article is also an expression of
my gratitude to Professor Osamu Nishikawa for his kindness concerning my Isabella Bird study, as well as for his
empathy regarding the Japan Society of Fujiology.
