The Floating World

Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)

Tatekawa in Honjō

本所立川 · Honjo Tatekawa

Katsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32

What it is

In a timber yard at Honjō a man throws a plank up to another standing on a tall stack, and Fuji shows through the gaps in the lumber.

Why it matters

This is the first of the ten designs added after the series’ success, and it stays with Hokusai’s favourite subject: people at work in front of the mountain.

What to notice

The stacked timbers form vertical stripes across the sheet, and the mountain is seen in the spaces between them.

A pile of planks can be the best seat for the view.

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 Metropolitan Museum of Art · JP2982

Impression note. The series sold well and was printed in large numbers. The first sheets lean on the newly imported Prussian blue, outlines included; later printings add colours and soften the key block. This is the largest clean open impression of the design the Met holds. 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

The road at your moment — Painted Earth’s ukiyo-e style pack.