Many people are climbing the rough mountain; each is using a stick and appears very tired, with one man even crawling. Yes, in this image Hokusai depicted Mt. Fuji in quite a different way.

These are groups of religious commoners (Fuji-ko) who worshipped the mountain. Until 1872, in the Meiji era, women were not allowed to climb this sacred mountain.

In the upper right, many people appear jam-packed in a cave-like area, presumably waiting for the sunrise.

Nowadays, the route is much better developed, making it far easier to climb than in those days, which has caused another problem: too many people are attempting to climb. Therefore, the prefecture of the main entrance to the mountain route decided on a new rule; climbers need to register in advance and pay an entrance fee.