tour 9 of 19
Views of Mount Fuji
Katsushika Hokusai, Shichiri-ga-hama [Beach] in Suruga Province (Sōshū Shichiri-ga-hama), a colour woodlblock print
From the series
'Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji'
(Fugaku
sanjū-rokkei)
'Drawn
by Old-Man Itsu, the former Hokusai
Printed in
blue, one view on each sheet, published
progressively.
These
pictures show the shape of Fuji as it differs depending on the
place. It is not always drawn the same - now the shape as seen from
the beach at Shichiri-ga-hama: or the view as seen from Tsukuda
Island - and will be of assistance to those learning [to paint]
landscapes. If carved progressively, they should even exceed on
hundred. They are not limited to
thirty-six.'
Printed advertisment, New
Year 1831
A series devoted
solely to landscape was a novelty in Japanese art. The major factor
in establishing pure landscape as a new genre of Ukiyo-e print was
probably the sudden availability in the later 1820s of cheap Berlin
blue. This strong, brilliant pigment could be used for water and
sky and would not
fade.
This print belongs to
what is thought to be the first group of five designs in the
series, done originally entirely in shades of Berlin blue.
Shichiri-ga-hama, 'Seven-League' Beach, lies in the
foreground with Mt Fuji seen past the island of Enoshima in the
middle-ground. Cumulonimbus clouds rise on the horizon, suggesting
summer storms, and yet Fuji is well covered with
snow.