１、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

UNDER THE WAVE OFF KANAGAWA

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
The soaring waves with mean claws are about to swallow up the helpless sailors, who desperately maneuver their vessels. Fuji in the distance draws a stark contrast of stillness. The men hanging onto their oars make their predicament even more poignant. The supreme force of na-ture over humanity is illustrated eloquently in this striking composition.

２、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

THUNDERSTORM BENEATH THE SUMMIT

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
Mt. Fuji in this picture emphasizes its great height and might, itself soaring above the clouds into the clear sky, yet below the clouds the world is under dismal weather with a thunderstorm.

３、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

IN THE MOUNTAINS OF TŌTOUMI PROV-INCE

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
A woodworker and his family working in the mountains. The composition is bold with the timber cutting across the picture, and the trian-gular arrangements is interesting, using the scaffolding, the timber and the mountain. Tech-nical excellence is evident in the depiction of rising smoke using fine linear engraving and hand-applied gradation.

４、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
While Fujimigahara literally signifies a plane with a view of Mount Fuji, this location, be-lieved to be in Nagoya, does not offer the Fuji view. Hokusai’s taste for radical compositions is manifest in the geometrical combination of the circle of a gigantic pail and the small triangle of Mount Fuji. The craftsman is one of the artist’s template figures, found in the Hokusai Manga, the compilation of his sketches.

５、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

REFLECTION ON THE LAKE AT MISAKA IN KAI PROVINCE

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
A view taken from the Misaka Pass, connecting Kōfu and Fuji Yoshida. This point commands a panoramic view of Kawaguchiko (lake), and Mt.Fuji from close up. Hokusai’s artistic humor is seen in this print as Mt.Fuji above the lake is a summer mountain, while its reflection on the water has wintry snow covering the summit.

６、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

HODOGAYA ON THE TŌKAIDŌ HIGWAY

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
An idyllic scene around the Shinanozaka near the lodging station of Hodogaya. Mt. Fuji shows its elegant figure through pine trees lining the footpath. Traveling figures―palanquin porters, a wandering monk and travelers on horse-back―add a dynamic touch to the composition.

７、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

CLEAR DAY WITH A SOUTHERN BREEZE

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
Popularly known as “The Red Fuji,” this is the most striking masterpiece of the Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji series. It depicts the mountain showing a refreshing sight in the early morning southerly wind, expressing the lasting grandeur and grace of this famous mountain by the simple tricolors of indigo, green and ochre red.

８、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

INUME PASS IN KAI PROVINCE

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
Inume Pass in Yamanashi ran across the border between Kōshū and Bushū provinces and was well-known for the excellent view of Mt. Fuji. A scene with a slope in an idyllic section along the Kōshū route is depicted with the Katsura river in a haze and snow-capped Mt. Fuji soaring in the distance.

９、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

SENJU IN MUSASHI PROVINCE

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
Senju (Adachi-ku) was a thriving lodging station and the starting point of the major highways leading to Mito and Nikkō. The scene shows a floodgate on the embankment of Arakawa River near the edge of Senju, a groom gazing at Mt. Fuji and two anglers nearby. It is a peaceful country scene. Mt. Fuji appearing between the pillars of the floodgate is the product of Hoku-sai’s original composition.

１０、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

THE TAMA RIVER IN MUSASHI PROVINCE

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
Among the six Tama rivers that existed in Japan, this one was a popular recreational site in sub-urban Edo and was captured in many paintings. The print depicts the river from an elevated van-tage point, with Mt. Fuji behind the low-flying clouds. The river, has delicate ripples of water rendered with fine, organic lines in a typical Hokusai-esque technique.

１１、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

LAKE SUWA IN SHINANO PROVINCE

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
A view over distant Mt. Fuji beyond Lake Suwa, seen from a hill with two tall pine trees and a shrine. The Takashima castle is depicted on the lake shore. The Fuji view from Lake Suwa was probably widely known, as it was drawn by oth-er painters such as Keisai Eisen and Utagawa Hiroshige.

１２、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

EJIRI IN SURUGA PROVINCE

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
Ejiri is situated near the Shimizu port. The print depicts bewildered travelers caught in strong whirlwinds that happens often in the Mt. Fuji’s surrounds, while the mountain itself is depicted simply in an outline, giving a static contrast to the dynamic rendering of the wind gusts, ex-pressed through the woven hats and pieces of paper flying into the sky and the trees yielding to the force of the winds.

１３、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

SEA LANE OFF KAZUSA PROVINCE

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
Two large mast boats sail in the Bay of Edo heading toward the Bōsō district. Hokusai had a keen interest in mechanical structures and sketched them in great detail. The gently curved horizon gives the sense of oceanic expansion beyond the view.

１４、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

YOSHIDA ON THE TŌKAIDŌ HIGHWAY

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
Mt. Fuji is presented as if it were a painting in the painting, framed by the pillars, the beam and the window sash. The letters depicted on the hats and apron of the man on the far-right are a pun on the publisher, Eijudō. The signboard reads “Nemoto Yoshida Hokuchi,” promoting the local industry of tinder-making.

１５、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

THE BAY OF NOBOTO

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
Noboto is a coastal area in Chiba, situated on the Bay of Tokyo. It was a famous clam-rich beach. The central feature is the two torii gates dedi-cated to Noboto Shrine standing in a shallow water, and Mt. Fuji is placed subtly within one of them. Depiction of animated people gathering clams is also eye-catching.

１６、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

SEKIYA ON BY SUMIDA RIVER

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
The print depicts three express couriers racing along the bank of Sumida River and Mt. Fuji glowing red beyond the misty fields. The scene deftly shows galloping horses breaking the still-ness of the hazy morning. Sekiya is present-day Senju Sekiya-chō in Adachi-ku, Tokyo.

１７、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

A LAKE AT HAKONE IN SAGAMI PROV-INCE

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
A panoramic view over Lake Ashi in Hakone, with Mt. Fuji on the other side of the lake, and the Hakone Shrine to the right. The ambiance of this spiritual sanctuary is poignantly depicted, enhanced by the arrangements of the haze, the wild cedar trees, and the absence of human fig-ures.

１８、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

ENOSHIMA IN SAGAMI PROVINCE

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
In Edo period, Enoshima was a popular outing spot among Edo commoners, tourists and pil-grims alike. The town of Enoshima is depicted from the side of the Katase beach, with visitors treading toward the island along the tidal flat. The rendition of the waves is impressive, printed in indigo and dotted with the karazuri technique.

１９、Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

TAGO BEACH AT EJIRI ON THE TŌKAIDŌ HIGHWAY

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849)
ca. 1831, Edo period / Woodblock, Nishiki-e
 
Tago-no-ura is a scenic place, the earliest refer-ences to which are found in the eighth-century anthology Man’yoshū. Two long fishing boats floating on a rough water in the foreground ac-centuate Mt. Fuji beyond the sea water. Salt pans are depicted on the beach. The sea water is ren-dered beautifully in its colors and wave patterns.

２０

SEAPORT ON THE INLAND SEA

Edo period, 17th c.
 
As the right screen shows a scene of salt panning on a beach and the left screen a tower resembling that of Senkō-ji temple in Onomichi, this work is thought to have depicted a Seto Inland Sea coastal area along the San’yō route. Most early genre paintings depict themes based on Kyoto but this work is characteristic in choosing activities in the province as its theme.