Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
Fuji View Field in Owari Province
尾州不二見原 · Bishū Fujimigahara
Katsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32
What it is
In "Fuji-view field" in Owari, a cooper works inside a giant half-built tub — and the tub's circle frames Fuji, a small blue triangle in a ring of new wood.
Why it matters
The series' cleanest geometry: circle around triangle, labor around mountain — a craftsman's-eye view of Fuji from the farthest province in the set.
What to notice
The cooper never looks up. The most famous view in Japan hangs inside his workpiece, and he has work to finish.
"The work frames the mountain. The mountain frames the work."
The record
- Artist
- Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760–1849)
- Series
- Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
- Date
- c. 1830–32
- Publisher
- Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudō)
- Medium
- woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Source
- The Art Institute of Chicago · 1925.3229
Impression note. Printings differ in the warmth of the tub's wood tones and the sky's gradation; a fine impression holds the barrel's long keyblock curve clean and unbroken. Impression variance is real — printings differ in wiping and fading — and choosing the finest openly held impression is the curatorial act.
Public domain; faithfully reproduced.
Bring it home
Printed to order on EMA matte art paper, 200gsm.
From the same series
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave)Katsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)Fine Wind, Clear Morning (Red Fuji)Katsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)Thunderstorm Beneath the SummitKatsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)Kajikazawa in Kai ProvinceKatsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32The road at your moment — Painted Earth’s ukiyo-e style pack.