Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
Tama River in Musashi Province
武州玉川 · Bushū Tamagawa
Katsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32
What it is
A ferryman poles his boat across the Tama River; on the near bank a man leads a loaded horse along the water, and Fuji stands over the far mist.
Why it matters
One of the series' gentlest sheets — no spectacle, just the crossing of water, with the mountain as the far shore's landmark.
What to notice
The river is laid in long bands of graded blue; the ferryman's pole makes the one vertical in a sheet built of horizontals.
"Every crossing is small. Every crossing is the whole journey."
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 · 1925.3282
Impression note. The water's graded blues are wiped by hand and differ from impression to impression; a fine printing keeps the bands even and the tiny figures on the bank crisp. 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.