Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
Thunderstorm Beneath the Summit
山下白雨 · Sanka hakuu
Katsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32
What it is
Fuji's dark twin: nearly the same profile as Red Fuji, but night-black at the base, where lightning branches through a hidden storm. Above the cloud line the summit stands in clear sky.
Why it matters
Conceived as Red Fuji's companion — two weathers, one mountain. Together they are the series' poles: serenity and violence in a single silhouette.
What to notice
The lightning is one jagged keyblock stroke cut into the black; the summit keeps its snow untouched, a season away from its own foothills.
"The storm is real. So is the sky above it."
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 · 1925.3244
Impression note. Impressions range from a deep, even black in the storm-dark base to a worn grey; the summit's snow is reserved paper and reads only as strongly as the black beside it. 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)Kajikazawa in Kai ProvinceKatsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)Ejiri in Suruga ProvinceKatsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32The road at your moment — Painted Earth’s ukiyo-e style pack.