is a series of three illustrated books by Japanese
ukiyo-e artist
Hokusai
, known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. He is best known for the woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock print series ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'', which includes the ...
. It is considered one of Japan's most exceptional illustrated books (''
e-hon''), and alongside the ''
Hokusai Manga'', the most influential in the West. The first two volumes were published in 1834 and 1835, shortly after completion of his seminal ''
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji'', with a third released in the late 1840s.
The books contain over a hundred views of
Mount Fuji
, or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...
in various styles and settings; Hokusai shows the peak in pure landscapes, with flora and fauna, in religious and mythological scenes and with different atmospheric effects, but above all, he focuses on ordinary people at work.
The first two volumes are celebrated for their very high standards of
woodblock printing, with "extremely fine cutting" and "exquisite gradation" (''
bokashi'') of the grey blocks; they have been called a "masterpiece of monochrome printing".
Publication
The first two volumes have embossed pink covers and feature what is known as a "falcon-feather" title slip. They were published by
Nishimuraya Yohachi, who had issued the ''
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji'', and Nishimura Sukezo in 1834 and 1835. The blocks were cut by the workshop of
Egawa Tomekichi and are praised for their extremely high quality. Eirakuya Toshiro of
Nagoya, publisher of the ''
Hokusai Manga'', issued the third volume, which is not as well printed as the first two. The date of publication is not known with certainty; the third is conventionally dated to 1849, though some prefer a date several years earlier.
[Clark]
The first volume is inscribed by the artist: "From the brush of the former Hokusai Iitsu changing name to Manji, the old man crazy about painting" (Saki no Hokusai Iitsu aratame Gakyo Rojin Manji hitsu). The book is the first major project of his to use the name "Manji" which he wrote with a character meaning ten thousand, a symbol of longevity.
In a later pressing, at the age of seventy-five, he added his famous autobiographical
colophon:
Subject matter
Coming soon after the publication of his famous ''
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji'', Hokusai continued his "artistic and spiritual exploration" of the mountain.
Whereas the ''Thirty-six Views'' largely consists of images drawn from reality, this work features few designs rooted in a specific place. The preface to volume three describes the compositions as "eccentric".
Henry Smith states the books show how Hokusai saw Fuji as "a powerful reservoir of immortality that would assist him in his personal quest to live beyond one hundred years of age and fathom ultimate artistic truths".
Art historian
Jack Hillier regarded the ''One Hundred Views'' as Hokusai's "masterwork" and as a summation of his artistic philosophy and practice.
[Hillier (1980), p. 214]
Gallery
File:Hokusai,_Fuji_at_Torigoe.jpg, "Fuji at Torigoe", the observatory of the Calendar Bureau
File:The Big wave from 100 views of the Fuji, 2nd volume.jpg, "The Big Wave"
File:Hokusai One Hundred Views of Mt.Fuji（富嶽百景） Into the Window(窗中).jpg, "Into the Window"
File:Fuji Under Moonlight (5765353351).jpg, "Fuji Under Moonlight"
File:Mirror Stand Fuji (5758997071).jpg, "Mirror-stand Fuji"
File:Le Fuji dans les montagnes Totomi - Hokusai preparatoire Guimet.jpg, "Fuji in the Totomi Mountains", preparatory drawing in India ink and red pigment on paper
File:Fuji knothole.jpg, "Fuji through a Knothole"
Notes
References
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External links
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{{Hokusai
Works by Hokusai
Japanese books
Mount Fuji