Katsushika Hokusai’s most famous prints series, Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), who was one of the most active ukiyo-e artists in Edo Period, accomplished the Mt.Fuji arts series of “Fugaku Sanjurokkei”(Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji) in early 18th century.

Katsushika Hokusai’s biography

Viewing one by one, you should not get boared with them by his color usage and composition. Please click if you want to learn about the description of the woodblock printings

If you need a compiled file of “Thirty-six View of Mount Fuji”, you can get it on the members-only page.

PDF file of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai

The garalley of Mt. Fuji prints, ”Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji”

1. Nihonbashi, Edo
2. The store of Mitsui in Suruga-cho, the Eastern capital
3. Surugadai in the Eastern capital
4. Asakusa Hongan-ji temple in the Eastern capital
5. Honjo-Tatekawa
6. Under Mannen Bridge at Fukagawa
7. Sazai hall – Temple of Five Hundred Rakan
8. Cushion Pine at Aoyama
9. Watermill at Onden
10. Below Meguro
11. Tea house at Koishikawa. The morning after a snowfall
12. Sunset across the Ryōgoku Bridge from the bank of the Sumida River at Onmayagashi
13. Sekiya Village on the Sumida River
14. Senju, Musashi Province
15. Pleasure District at Senju
16. Tsukuda Island in Musashi Province
17. The Kazusa Province sea route
18. Bay of Noboto
19. Ushibori in Hitachi Province
20. Goten-yama-hill, Shinagawa on the Tōkaidō
21. The Great Wave off Kanagawa
22. Tama River in Musashi Province
23. Hodogaya on the Tōkaidō
24. Shichiri beach in Sagami Province
25. Enoshima in Sagami Province
26. Nakahara in Sagami Province
27. Umezawa in Sagami Province
28. The lake of Hakone in Sagami Province
29. Mishima Pass in Kai Province
30. The Tea plantation of Katakura in Suruga Province
31. Ōno Shinden in the Suruga Province
32. Rainstorm Beneath the Summit
33. Fine Wind, Clear Morning, by Katsushika Hokusai
34. Climbing on Fuji
35. Ejiri in Suruga Province
36. Shore of Tago Bay, Ejiri at Tōkaidō
37. The Fuji from Kanaya on the Tōkaidō
38. Mount Fuji from the mountains of Tōtōmi
39. Yoshida at Tōkaidō
40. Fuji View Field in Owari Province
41.Inume Pass, Kai Province
42.Mount Fuji refrects in Lake Kawaguchi
43. Dawn at Isawa in Kai Province
44. Lake Suwa in Shinano Province
45. Kajikazawa in Kai Province
46. The back of Fuji from the Minobu River

Though nobody knows the exact production period, it seemed Katsushika Hokusai made the Mt. Fuji arts series from 1823 to 1831. And Nishimura-ya Yohachi pulbished the famous landscape woodblock printings.

Hokusai was already over 70 years old when he worked on the series of artworks. However, the powerfulness and diversity of them as well as the Utagawa Hiroshige(1797-1858)‘s “Fifty-Three Stages on the Tokaido” raised the importance of the landscape painting in Japanese art.

As you see, it conatains more than 36 woodblock printings, because he added other 10 works of “Back Fuji” with Sumizuri-e. Mt.Fuji has been a special mountain for the Japanese.

And the people at that time worshiped and go to pray at Mt. Fuji. As a result, the series became so popular as Nishimura-ya seeked.

Especially, No.21 The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, No.32 Reinstorm beneath the Summit, No.33 South Wind, Clear Sky(red fuji) and No.35 Ejiri in Suruga Provinvce are most famous Japanese paintings all over the world.