冨嶽三十六景　甲州石班沢|Kajikazawa in Kai Province (Kōshū Kajikazawa), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)

Katsushika Hokusai

ca. 1830–32 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

The repetition and rhyme of shapes and colors in the foreground and background make this one of the most unified, handsome designs in the series. The triangular shape formed by the fishing lines, the fisherman's arched back, and the promontory from which he fishes echoes that of Fuji on the horizon. The visual relationship between man in the foreground and nature in the background is enhanced by the deep Berlin blue coloration Hokusai gave to the fisherman's jacket, the apex of the shoreline in the foreground, and the summit of Fuji. The first impression of this print features the indigo technique; the number of colors was increased in later impressions.

Artist

Katsushika Hokusai

Date

ca. 1830–32

Medium

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936