In the context of Eijudō Hibino at Seventy-one (Toyokuni I), discuss the Text & symbolism of the Print details.
The text appearing in the upper left area of the print repeats a popular verse or proverb relating to Japanese New Year:一富士に  (Ichi Fuji ni)  :  First, Fuji.
二鷹  (ni taka)  :  Second, a hawk.
色よし  (iro yoshi)  :   Of good colour,
三茄子    (san nasubi)  :  Third, an eggplant.The imagery of the verse is echoed in the screen design, which features an outline of Mount Fuji, a soaring hawk and an eggplant. These three elements belong to the hatsuyume (初夢) or 'First Dream' tradition, a belief that, when seen in order in the first dream of the year, these items augur good fortune. This was a popular notion by the mid-seventeenth century, and is a common motif in prints and paintings from the period. These images continue to appear on new year greeting cards (nengajō - 年賀状) to this day.
The auspiciousness of these objects can be attributed to a variety of factors. In Edo era Japan, hawks were considered "natural emblems of the Japanese warrior class due to their keen eyesight, their predatory nature, and their boldness." The homophone 高 (taka) means 'great' or 'high.' The eggplant has long been considered to have associations with fertility, and is also a homophone for 成す (nasu), "to accomplish; to achieve; to succeed in." 'Fuji' (富士), when written with the homophone kanji characters 不 (fu - not/ un-) and 死 (ji - death), can be interpreted to mean 'immortality.' When taken as a group, the combination of the syllables fuji, taka, nasu can also be read as homophones for "unparalleled success."Some have suggested that the text's calligraphy and even the images on the screen backdrop may have been done by Nishimuraya Yohachi himself. According to the Museum Angewandte Kunst, Nishimuraya's involvement is hinted at by "the fact that a kakihan [書判] or paraphe [sic] follows Eijudō's signature."
paraphe Mount Fuji left hatsuyume Nishimuraya Yohachi