36 Views of Mount Fuji, Nakahara in Sagami Province, Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese Print

In this evocative scene the viewer is presented with a busy river crossing where travellers along the route and local Sagami people converge. In the far left corner is a fisherman hunting in the shallows as two pilgrims pass to his right onto the bridge - the roadside carving of the traditional god Fudo marking the route to Oyama behind them. Ahead of the pair is a woman with a baby strapped to her back in contemporary fashion, while also being weighed down with tools and other items of labour.

In the middle ground, along the Tokaido Highway, the bustle of the day develops further with a local farmer hoping to sell seeds to the pilgrims heading across the bridge. Ahead of him, looking longingly at the farmer's wares, is another pilgrim hoping to beg a meal and drink, perhaps. He is turned away from another local seemingly laden with supplies.

It is in the background where the sacred mountain of Fuji sits – typically from Hokusai's artworks located front and centre though seemingly primary not the subject matter. The shape of Fuji is echoed in the fore-right of the image through the roof of a shack to give further resonance and balance to the piece. Printed in one of Hokusai's preferred methods of colour woodblock on paper the limited palette is easy on the eyes inviting closer study.

Katsushika Hokusai was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. Born in Edo (now Tokyo), Hokusai is best known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽三十六景 Fugaku Sanjūroku-kei, c. 1831) which includes the internationally iconic print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

Hokusai created the "Thirty-Six Views" both as a response to a domestic travel boom and as part of a personal obsession with Mount Fuji. It was this series, specifically The Great Wave print and Fine Wind, Clear Morning, that secured Hokusai’s fame both in Japan and overseas. As historian Richard Lane concludes, "Indeed, if there is one work that made Hokusai's name, both in Japan and abroad, it must be this monumental print-series". While Hokusai's work prior to this series is certainly important, it was not until this series that he gained broad recognition.

All prints are made using archival art stocks and UV pigment inks to give up to 200 years life. Choose from unframed, framed and mounted and canvas panel options.