'Fuji:100 Views from Mt Fuji' from Hokusai Manga, vol. 2, 'Fuji Farmers Carrying Baskets'
Date: Woodblock of vol. 1 carved in 1834 (Tenpō 5); vol. 2 in 1835 (Tenpō 6); vol. 3 in the late 1840s
Medium: Monochrome woodblock print; ink on paper
Publisher: Eirakuya Tōshirō (Nagoya)
Fugaku hyakkei, “One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji,” is an album of delightful, monochromatic illustrations of the national landmark and the eternal peak, Mount Fuji, from different vantage points and in a wide range of scenes. Some depict Mount Fuji in the distance as the backdrop while in the foreground people are preoccupied with working or pleasure, or while travelers and pilgrims make journeys to celebrated scenic spots or religious sites. Others situate the sacred peak in imaginary or aesthetically imaginative scenes, for example, the crouching dragon swiftly ascending with the current of cloud toward the sublime summit, or the mountain delineated in a reverse image suggesting its reflection in a watery expanse. This composition is of a a line of farmers carrying baskets up the road, some on their back, some double-carrying with a pole. This print is two sheets from Hokusai’s manga, vol. 2. This is a left and right panel. Totaling 102 views in three separate volumes, Fugaku hyakkei was designed and launched after the splendid series of single-sheet color prints, Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (1830-32), Hokusai’s most famous landscape prints. Although some views in the print series and illustrated book seem closely related in terms of motif and composition, Hokusai expanded his engagement with the mountain to show it in a range of imaginative views. In the nineteenth century, more people were traveling in Japan and this contributed to the production of landscape prints and guidebooks. This woodblock set is handsomely matted in a complementary mat and frame accenting the artwork. The woodblock pages measure 7" x 5" each, and the frame measures 13" x 16". It is in excellent original condition, particularly given its age of nearly 200 years. This woodblock set is professionally matted and framed in acid-free environs.        PG5                             $495.00