HOKUSA

BY

A. HYATT MAYOR

WITH AN ESSAY BY YASUKO BETCHAKU

ASSISTANT CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF FAR EASTERN ART

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin www.jstor.org

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in the provinceof Kai. FromThe COVER:Fujifrom Kajikazawa Thirty-sixViewsof Fuji, about 1831-33.
INSIDE COVERS: Fencers. Fromthe Manga,Vol. VI, 1817.

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i TITLEPAGE, PAGES 3, 5, 7: Galloping horse and two archers.

Fromthe Manga,Vol. VI, 1817.Man swallowinga sword.From the Manga,Vol. X, 1819. of gluttony. A ABOVE, RIGHT: Some prize-winning"talents" tough-jawedeater bites greedilyinto a persimmonsuspendedby a string. One glutton racesthroughbowlsof noodles; another tosses whole rice cakes into his mouth. Fromthe Manga,Vol. X.
RIGHT: Variousmagicaltalents. A magicianturnsinto a BELOW, I

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frog;another makes irisesbloom from the burningcharcoalin a a third multiplieshimself;a fourthturnssheets of paper brazier; into birds. Fromthe Manga,Vol. X.

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THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART BULLETIN Summer 1985 VolumeXLIII,Number 1 (ISSN 0026-1521) Publishedquarterly? 1985 by The MetropolitanMuseumof Art, FifthAvenue and 82nd Street, New York,N.Y. 10028. Second-class postage paid at New York,N.Y. and Additional Mailing Offices. Museumof Art Bulletinis providedas a benefit to The Metropolitan Museum members and available by subscription. Subscriptions $18.00 a year. Single copies $4.75. Fourweeks'notice requiredfor change of address. POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to Membership Department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10028. Back issues availableon microfilm, from University Microfilms,313 N. First Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Volumes I-XXVIII (1905-1942) availableas a clothbound reprintset or as individualyearlyvolumes fromThe Ayer Company,Publishers,Inc., 99 Main Street, Salem, N.H. 03079, or from the Museum, Box 700, Middle Village, N.Y 11379.General Managerof Publications: John P. O'Neill. Editorin Chief of the Bulletin:Joan Holt. Editor:Joanna Ekman. Photography by Gene C. Herbert, Metropolitan Museum Photograph Studio. Design: Abby Goldstein.

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Additional magicaltalents. One magicianproducesa processionof small figuresfromhis sleeve; a second vanishes;a third eats rice and exhales a swarmof bees; a fourthemergesfrom a vase; a fifth breathesout a saddledhorse;a sixth projectsa giant face in incense smoke;a seventh swallowsa sword;an eighth poursa gushingstreamof waterfromhis cuppedhands. From the Manga,Vol. X.

THE OLD MAN MAD ABOUT PAINTING

atevery would bearlooking theirwork doesnot have Fewartists dayfora year; It is not enoughmerely to be great,forthe great andpersonality. the variety I CV^S^/f/K in us the of hisobsession. Tobe unendurably singleness may painter impound worthof pictures,an artistmust interesting througha year's continuously , ' have eyes that gluttonizein everydirectionand an absolutecommand of hand.Sucha one wasHokusai. wasbornin 1760in whatis nowTokyo.All his lifehe wasaspoor Hokusai mirrors fora subsistence. Whenhe wasa smallboy whopolished ashisfather, in several the to woodcuts colors.In began print drawing pictures, Japanese andat eighteenhe started to draw for wascuttingwoodblocksforpublishers, his earlyteens, Hokusai
other cuttersin the studio of Shunsho. He adoptedpartof his master's name, calling himself Shunro, to show how completelyhe succumbedto Shunsho'sratherwearystyle in printsof sulky,silken courtesans them. If Hokusaihad died beforehe was forty, while still lingering in and the actorswho impersonated this listless elegance, he wouldhave been forgotten. He developedlate in his eighty-nine yearsof life by dint of makingover 10,000 woodcutsand some 30,000 to 40,000 drawings.Thus he was not altogether

"Ihavedrawn whenhe said,at the ageof seventy-five: thingssinceI wassix. All thatI humility assuming I beganto understand is not worthcounting.At seventy-three the true the ageof sixty-five madebefore of animals, construction plants,trees,birds,fishesand insects.[Heomitsmen.]At ninetyI will enter I shallcertainly havereached a magnificent intothe secretof things.At a hundred level;andwhenI ama hundred andten, everything-everydot, everydash-will live."
Hokusaidied in 1849, fouryearsbeforeCommodorePerryintroducedforeignersinto Japaneselife. For

hadbeentolerated on a three-hundred-yard of earth a fewDutchmerchants overtwocenturies rectangle

dumped into Nagasaki harborfor the confinement of outsiders. Hokusai, observing everything, once

a board out of a window showsa "highnose"peering wall,andbeingpeeredat fromthe street. beyond to the mainland, to crossthe narrow theirclothes,their Eventhoughthe Dutchwereforbidden bridge ideaswere glasses,and their booksdid. Hokusai,living just when Japanese guns, their magnifying in the can no believe tale esthetics of the ideas from to rub fairy longer quite Europe, against beginning of representing the world aregoing,forin one before.Eventhe oldways Murasaki a thousand years Lady
streetconvergesto a vanishingpoint, with figures of his printsa Japanese diminishingin the distance, just

of fatpeopleandthinpeoplecouldwellbe Diirer's book.Hisstudies likea platein anywestern perspective set to anatomical capering. comparisons old ideasbegin to be questioned,the unsettlinggenerates Wheneverand wherever energy.The
breakupof ancient Japaneseideas suppliesthe motor that convulses Hokusai'swrestlers,fishermen,and

of Japanese himto explore The paceof changedrives dailylifeas he doingandhappening every jugglers. himselfinto the turmoil whothrew of sawit in his studio,the street.He is the onlyJapanese printmaker shamof the stage. thanthe high-flown the slumsrather little morethan his brushes andhis paper, he traveled fastbecause Hokusai traveled light, carrying
changing his abode ninety-three times, and as restlesslyadopting over thirty different names. As he flew, he absorbed every style that he saw, keeping consistently only the Japanese convention that ignores shadows. Shadows would have obstructed the racing of his line as it describes things with disembodiedsubtlety.
5

Japaneseand Chinese artistsareable to flingout lines writhinglike stringsin the wind becausethey do not move their brusheswith the little muscleof their fingers,as we might do, but with the largemusclesof their arm and shoulder.Nothing touches the paperbut the brushtip that goes and goes, driven by the

of a pausethatmightdropa blot. Sucha wayof drawing dread putsits effortin outlineandsummarizes

inner detail. The Japaneseand Chinese see no interior logic of bone and muscle in their shadowless figures,and they escape our Greek abstractideal of the body-never realizedin nature to concentrate

faceof the geishaandthe actor. on the painted theirconvention the transparent colors without the cleanlinesbound andobscuring InJapanese themcrossing prints
sky tints that stain throughthe tough diaphanoustissue of the mulberrypaper.These air colors capture the out-of-doorsfor a people who live more at the mercy of nature than we do, the rain stinging their cheeks through the splits in their strawrain clothes, the chill in their paper houses disjointing their

scatter hatsandbullypeople,the snowblinds In Hokusai's withawesome fingers. prints,the wind-squalls

cold. We are far from the mild valleys of classic Chinese painting, where a philosopher pauses to contemplate the October mist on the cliffs, and time runs visibly in the rivers. Hokusai lived in the knockaboutstruggleof today.Like Daumier,he seemed a graphicbuffoonto his contemporaries,but has

of command. to a stature withthe years grown

A. HYATT MAYOR

Twowomen at leisure:one reads-a tobacco pipe is on the floorbehind herthe leg and wrigglingher toes. Brushdrawingin ink.

other lies proppedon her elbows flexingher

NOTES

ON HOKUSAI'S

WOOD-BLOCK

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didnot liveto be one hundred Hokusai old, the ageat which Although years to reach"amagnificent he expected the bulk of work he left behindis level," a testimonyto his remarkable achievement as an artist. Even excluding one can see the Hokusai's fromhisdrawings easily paintings, scopeof hiswork in the following land prints,as demonstrated pages. Hokusai's work is book illustration and surimono, early surviving mainly issuedforspecialoccasionsandfrequently printsprivately accompanied by In Ehon Ichiran Picture Book (The Sumidagawa Ryogan poems. of theViews about1801-2, Hokusaipresentsin River), of theSumida AlongBothBanks

panoramaa continuous view of the river,beginning at the mouth and ending at the upperstream, and quarterof Edo (now Tokyo). The illustrationscontinue page by closing with a scene of the Yoshiwara a scroll in the same that way painting is unrolledsection by section. Hokusainot only includes the page, the distant view acrossthe people engagedin differentactivities on the near shore but also incorporates

is alsoseen in a single-sheet river(p. 14).A similar depictionof the farshore,thoughlessprominent, River (p. 23, below). print,Imado
Hokusai'ssubjects ranged from animals, plants, landscapes, and human figures to historical and themes. He producedvoluminoussketchescoveringall these subjectson a tripto Nagoya in supernatural he when 1812, stayedwith one of his pupils, Gekkotei Bokusen. Fromthese drawings,craftsmenmade

in 1814(vol. 1). Further asHokusai wood-block created from volumes, Manga printsthatwerepublished
other drawings,followedin 1815-19 (vols. 2-10), 1834 (vol. 12), 1849 (vol. 13), and 1878 (vol. 15). The

11and14arenot yetcertain.The fulltitle Denshin Kaishu: Hokusai datesof volumes whichmay Manga, manual fortransmitting the trueimage: as Hokusai as "beginner's be translated was pleases," commonly The word thendenoted"amanual orManga. of drawing," as opposed knownasHokusai to manga Manga or satires." of "comics its contemporary meaning
engagedin differentactivities, a variety Manypagesof the Mangaarerandomlyfilledwith smallfigures of birdsand plants probablydrawnfromnature, or landscapesin all kindsof weatherconditions. Others are more thought-out designs that could easily have become pagesof an illustratedbook (pp. 19, above and below; 27, below; 29). The freely renderedbrushdrawingof a man riding a donkey (p. 48) shows a striking resemblance to the images in the Manga;this or a similar drawingcould have served as a

forthe Manga. hanshita-e (under-drawing)

Among Hokusai'sother instructionalbooks was HokusaiGashiki(Methodof Drawingby Hokusai),a selection of designs on a varietyof subjects, publishedin collaborationwith Hokusai'sOsaka pupilsand Shunyosai Hokky6-in 1819. In contrast to the Manga, Senkakutei Hokuyo, Sekkatei Hokushufi, Gashiki has on each doublepage a single design that whose pagesarecrowdedwith smalldesigns, Hokusai

in a larger format demonstrates a styleof the master (p. 12). clearly

Bookof theStirrups Abumi(Picture EhonMusashi no of theBraves),1836 (p. 28, below) and EhonWakan

andChina), 1850(pp. 27, above;28, above)-two of three Bookof theGloryof Japan Homare (Picture knownas the Warrior with Hokusai's booksgenerally Trilogy-displaythe linearstyleoften associated
workof aroundthe 1830s. The blocks for EhonMusashiAbumiwereprobablymade about 1836 but were not printed until after Hokusai'sdeath. Figuresare executed with fine strokes in combination with
7

accentuated contour lines, whereas landscapesare shaded with angularstrokes and dots-a common

literati as wellas in Nanga,theJapanese conventionin Chineselandscape by painting inspired painting of the samekind. Chinesepainting brushwork Hokusai's books,butalsoin his drawings. maybe seennot onlyin his printed spontaneous andeconomy of line. an oldhatwiththe utmost around He captures simplicity hopping sparrows playful
that are contoured and the hat are drawnwith dabsof brownwash and broadbrushstrokes The sparrows

thin lines (p. 13, above). withcontrasting

for Hokusai's best-known Countless imagesproducedfor the Mangamay have servedas a groundwork the major where became of about Views The 1831-33, landscape Fuji, Thirty-six single-sheet prints, theme for the first time in the history of Japaneseprints. Ten prints with black outlines, the so-called

withblueoutlines. to the initialset of thirty-six, additions weresubsequent "rear-view Fuji,"

BeneaththeSummit(pp. 46-47), Mt. Fujitowerspeacefullyabove the turbulentweather In Rainstorm suggestedby the white rainclouds and the thunderbolt.Here the majesticFujidominatesan entire scene

in the set (pp.40-41; 44, below; whilein otherprints arecompletely in whichhuman eliminated, figures
for example, huge 45) the human element is unobtrusivelypresent. In The GreatWaveoff Kanagawa, The viewer's their wooden boats. onto anthropomorphicwavesappearto engulf the tiny people holding eye is directed by the boats toward the left, swiftly taken upwardby the splashing waves, and then returnedto the center where Fujistandsundisturbed beyondthe roughwaves. Other prints in the series

and activitiesof ordinary (pp. 33, above;34-35; 36-37; 38; 39; 42-43; 44, above)depictlandscapes
people set against the familiarpresence of Mt. Fuji. Throughout the series, the viewer'sattention is alwaysdirectedto the gracefulview of this admiredmountain, no matterhow smallFujimaybe portrayed. could be just as exciting subjectsforsingle-sheet In other genres, Hokusaiprovedthat birdsand flowers

printsas actorsand beauties,themesfavoredby the masses.His imagesof plantsare basedupon his subjects' fromnature,but he goes farbeyondmorphological observation very accuracy, capturing in different essence.In the printof irises(pp. 10-11),a senseof vibrantlife is suggested by the flowers the have been eaten leaf that torn the well as as discreetly by grasshopper may by stagesof bloom, holdingonto it.
In his lateryears,Hokusaifrequentlysought ideasfromthe classics. In one of the printsfromthe series (eightFamousBridgesin VariousProvinces, about 1833-34, Hokusai adopts the theme of yatsuhashi

forthe wasa placecelebrated nowAichi prefecture, in Mikawa The yatsuhashi province, plankbridge).
lovely irises surroundingthe bridge and was one of the subjects favored by artists ever since it was mentioned in the tenth-centuryTalesof Ise, a collection of romanticepisodesin the life of a courtier.In

is slightlyalteredto forma Hokusai's zigzag patternof the yatsuhashi print (pp. 30-31), the familiar
trianglein the center that echoes the shape of the mountain. Irisflowers,usuallyshown filling the space, are reduced to scattered dots under the prominent bridge. Hokusai has replaced the Heian period usuallyassociatedwith elegant court nobles and largeiris flowers,with a (794-1185) ideal of yatsuhashi,

their the bridge to pursue ordinary peoplecrossing genresceneof the Edoperiod(1615-1867)showing activities. daily of one fromananthology Told Poems Anotherseries,TheHundred bytheNurse,about1835-36, derives For some no Teika. the famous 1235 in hundred hundred poetFujiwara by poetscompiled poemsbyone
reason the serieswas never completed;twenty-eightdesignsare known to exist as prints-twenty-seven

The title of arein the Freer as hanshita-e Gallery. colorandone blackandwhite-and forty-one designs
the seriesalong with the poet'sname and poem are presentedin a rectangleand a squarecartouche, the

rooftiles, usedforwriting of the sheetsof paper repairing poems.Whetherworkers traditionally shapes boats(pp.22, below; 24-25; 33, below),the images depicted hunters warming upbya fire,ormenrowing are smoke of where streaks A Winter own. butthoseof Hokusai's Scene, arenot thoseof the Heianperiod,
abstractsense of color, shape, and design, as set againsta flatmassof blackand gray,exemplifiesHokusai's

thathavegivenhis artits universal appeal. wellas his inexhaustible originality-someof the qualities
BETCHAKU YASUKO
8

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ABOVE:

trees in the rain; Landscapes: islands in the sea. Fromthe Manga,

RIGHT:Assorted leaves. Fromthe Manga, Vol. III, 1815.

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Irises.Froman untitled groupknown as flowerseries,"late 1820s. the "large-sheet

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OPPOSITE, ABOVE: Birdsin flight over

reeds;cormorants,finches, and geese. FromHokusaiGashiki,1819.

BELOW: Birdson a tree at the OPPOSITE, water's edge: thrushes,cranes, finches, and geese. FromHokusaiGashiki. ABOVE:Old hat and house sparrows.

Brushdrawingin ink and color.

RIGHT:Variousbirds. Fromthe Manga, Vol. III.

13

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Rainbowat Mitakegura.A showerfalls at the new YanagiBridgeover a canal joining the SumidaRiver. Wayfarers,rushingacrossthe bridge, hastily raiseumbrellasand cover themselves with coats and rugs. In the backgroundis a panoramicview of the farbank of the Sumida. FromEhonSumidagawa Ryogan Ichiran,about 1801-2.
ABOVE: OPPOSITE, ABOVE: Mount Harunain the

rain. One of a seriesof views of famous places drawnin variousweathers.From the Manga,Vol. VII. of Akita OPPOSITE, BELOW: Bog rhubarb in the rain. Hokusaihas enlargedthe size of Akita to preposterous rhubarb with leaves largeenough to serve as umbrellas.This may be his comment on the boastfultales of the residents. From the Manga,Vol. VII.

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A gust of wind at Ejiri, in the province of Suruga.Pale Fujiis seen from the plain. on the raisedpath throughthe Travelers rice fieldsstruggleagainstthe wind. Sheets of paperare swept into the air, and one man has lost his hat. FromThe Thirty-sixViews of Fuji, about 1831-33.

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The maddeningwind. To Hokusai, gesturesspoke louderthan words.These studiescaricaturethe reaction of the harassedpedestriansto the unpredictablegustsof the wind. From the Manga,Vol. XII, 1834.
ABOVE:

woman of remarkable strength. A rearingwild horse is held fast by the delicate high wooden clog of the woman'ssandalon the halter rope. The woman, oblivious of the plunginganimal, admiresa birdflying above the irisesin the lake. Fromthe Manga,Vol. IX, 1819.
OPPOSITE, BELOW:Another woman of

OPPOSITE, ABOVE: A

remarkable strength. A mighty and muscularwarrior pusheswith all his strength, but the womancontinues to walk at her relaxedand unhurriedpace. At the edge of the path an empty sake bottle has been stuck upsidedown on a bamboopole. Fromthe Manga,Vol. IX.

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ABOVE: Caricatures of the OPPOSITE,

descendantsof a noble family.One figure at the top paints eyebrows on his forehead; the other paints his lips and teeth with the aid of a magnifyingmirror.At the bottom a posturingdandytreadson another'srobe, and in the center a figure slumpslike a pile of discardedclothes. Fromthe Manga,Vol. XII. longnosed. Long-nosedtengu(monsters,halfhuman, half-bird)displaytheir skills while an equallylong-nosedwomancompetes with them by writingelegant cursive scripton a folding screen with an ink brushtied to the end of her nose. From the Manga,Vol. XII.
OPPOSITE, BELOW:Talentsof the

BELOW: Variousunseemlysights. At the top a man is about to commit hara-kiri with a frog beside him. Below, a woman's face is unflatteringly magnified.Top right, a famouswrestler,Goro of Matano village, makesan ostentatiousdisplayof strengthby lifting a boulder.Below,a partiallyclad woman takes a pickled radishfrom a barrel.Fromthe Manga, Vol. XII.

21

Thin men and thin women. In LEFT: contrast to relaxedfat people (opposite), thin people are tense and active. They wrestle, carryloads, work, fight, break crockery,and provoketrouble. Fromthe Manga,Vol. VIII, 1818.
BELOW: Twowomen in a house are look-

ing at the peach blossomsbelow their porch. A workmanis throwingtiles to another on the roof above, while a third is laying them in position. In the distance is a well-traveledroad. FromThe HundredPoemsTold by the Nurse, about 1835-36.

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Randomsketches of fat men and LEFT:

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ple, for the most part, relax and sleep, read, smoke, or amusethemselves in a manner. Hokusaifinds their characterto be vastly differentfrom that of the thin people (opposite). Fromthe Manga,Vol. XIII, 1818.
BELOW: Pottersmakingroofingtiles on

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bank of the ImadoRiver, a tributary of the SumidaRiver. Early1800s.

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Illustrationof a poem by Minamoto no Muneyuki.A winter scene in the mountains. Outside a snow-covered hut, men warmthemselvesover a fire. Winter loneliness in a mountain hamlet grows Only deeperwhen guests are gone And leaves and grassare withered; So runsmy thought. FromThe HundredPoemsTold by the Nurse.

25

ABOVE: Variousmodes of fencing. The lances are tipped with protective cushions. The helmeted figuresin the center weargauntletsand wield swordsof wood. Fromthe Manga,Vol. VI, 1817.
ABOVE: General Nitta no OPPOSITE,

Yoshisada prayingto the dragongod in the sea. In response, the god turned the sea wavesinto sand, so that the general could cross to the opposite shore. A wave of sand following the contour of a wave of watermay be seen in the foreground. no Homare,1850. FromEhonWakan
BELOW: An episode in the life OPPOSITE,

of the Chinese warlord,Liu Hsiian-te (A.D. 161-223). The warlord,bent low in his saddle, plungesdown a cliff into the foamingtorrentof the riveras he escapesfrom his enemies. Fromthe Manga,Vol. VI.

26

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OPPOSITE, ABOVE: At

the requestof the emperor,Nitta no Tadatsune(d. 1203) set out to slay the monsterthat was said to inhabit the darkcavernsdeep under Fuji. Tadatsuneis shown here apparently lighting a magic torch from raysof sunlight reflectedon the sea. FromEhon no Homare. Wakan
Vision of H6j6 no OPPOSITE, BELOW:

ABOVE: Sun Wu-K'ung, the legendary

Tokimasa(1138-1215). According to the legend, Tokimasaprayedto the Goddess Benzaitenfor her protection. After three weeks of incessantprayer,Tokimasa was granteda vision of Benzaitenin the formof a serpent. As she disappeared, Benzaitenleft behind her three serpent scales, which were treasured by Tokimasaas a pledge of divine protection. FromEhonMusashi Abumi, 1836.

Buddhist-follower monkey,performing magic. Hairsthat the monkeyhas pluckedfromhis beardformthemselves into other monkeyscarryingstaves. On the left is the double manifestationof T'a Fei, the famouscruel and beautifulconcubine of the last emperorof the Shang dynasty.Her scatteredashes were said to have turned into a many-tailedfox. From the Manga,Vol. X.

29

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Yatsuhashi(The Eight-plankBridge), in the province of Mikawa,a construction of narrowplatformsbuilt out zigzagover a swamp.The middle partof the bridgeis raisedin an arch, and men and women on differentpartsof the bridgeadmire the iris blossomsin the waterbelow. FromViewsof FamousBridgesin Various Provinces, 1833-34.

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ABOVE:A ferryboat crossingthe bay.

Late 1790s-early 1800s.

ABOVE: OPPOSITE, Viewing the sunset

over Ry6gokuBridgefrom the bank of the SumidaRiver at Ommayagashi.The broadSumida is spannedby the great bridge. Beyond its farend Fujirisesdark and clear against the evening sky. From full of men and the near shore a ferryboat women is startingto cross the water. FromThe Thirty-six Viewsof Fuji.
OPPOSITE, BELOW: Illustrationof a poem

The large no Fukayabu. by Kiyowara prowof a pleasureboat is hung with lanterns, and two other boats are mooredon the river.Silhouettes of houses are seen on the opposite bank. How quicklythe night flowsin summer And dawn breaks. Long I sought the cloud-coveredmoon. FromThe HundredPoemsTold by the Nurse.

32

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Under Mannen Bridgeat Fukagawa. Distant Fujiis seen between the tall piersof the wide arch of Mannen Bridgeover the FukaRiver. People cross the bridge, a laden boat is poled upstreamin the foreground, and a man fishesfrom a rock in the stream. FromThe Thirty-sixViews of Fuji.
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Ushibori in the province of Hitachi. A largejunk is mooredamong reeds. Two herons take wing as a man leans out of the cabin to pourawaywaterin which rice has been washed. In the distance acrossthe marshesis Fuji. FromThe Thirty-sixViewsof Fuji.

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OPPOSITE, ABOVE: In

the Totomi Mountains. A huge squarelog is supported aslant on tall trestles;between the poles is a view of the cloud-wreathedcone of Fuji. Twomen saw,one kneeling below, the other standingon the log. A woman and a child watch. A workmansits by a fire, which sends up a dense column of smoke. FromThe Thirty-sixViews of Fuji.
OPPOSITE, BELOW:The

ABOVE: Fuji-viewFieldsin the province of Owari. The peak of the mountain on the horizonthroughthe circle appears of a greatunfinishedvat upon which a cooper is at work. FromThe Thirty-six Viewsof Fuji.

waterwheelat Onden. A greatwaterwheelis turnedby a streamrunningunder it. In the foregrounda boy drawsa tortoise by a string, a womancarriesa bucket, and another womanwashesherbs in the stream. Beyondthe streamtwo men with bundles appearover the hill. Fujirisesover fields and mists. FromThe Thirty-sixViews of Fuji.

39

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The greatwave off Kanagawa.The dark blue watercrests above three fragile boats, which speed like arrowsthrough the troughof the wave. Fujiappears, snow-capped,on the distant horizon. FromThe Thirty-sixViewsof Fuji.

41

Tatekawa at Honj6. View of Fuji from a lumberyardin the Honj6 district. FromThe Thirty-sixViewsof Fuji.
ABOVE:

ABOVE: Sazai Hall of the TemOPPOSITE,

ple of the 500 Rakan. On a balcony adjoiningthe hall of the temple, men and women look out acrossa silver-gray lake to Fuji. The mountain risesbeyond a bank, which partlyhides the roofs of Edo and the stacksof a timberyard.A man and a woman sit on the floorof the balcony restingagainstboxes containing the imagesof Kannon, God of Mercy.From The Thirty-sixViewsof Fuji.
BELOW: Yoshida on the OPPOSITE,

Tokaido. A room in the Fujimiteahouse. A waitressis pointing out Fujito two ladies seatedon the balcony of the wide window.Two workmenare resting. At the left are two litter bearers,one of them softening his sandalby beating it with a mallet. FromThe Thirty-sixViews of Fuji.

42

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OPPOSITE, ABOVE: Hodogayaon the Tokaido. Fuji, blue and white, is seen between the trunksof pines fringingthe a man leads high road. In the foreground a horse riddenby a woman, and the bearersof a litter rest. The crest of the print publisher,Eijud6, appearson the horse cloth. FromThe Thirty-sixViews of Fuji.

BELOW: OPPOSITE, Honganji Temple at

Asakusain Edo. In the foregroundis the gable of the temple with workmenrepairing the tiles of the roof. Below are the roofs of Edo with the scaffoldingof a fire station risingabovethem. A kite is flying high in the air, and over floatingmist appearsthe cone of Fuji. FromThe Thirty-sixViewsof Fuji.
ABOVE:The Mishima Passin the

provinceof Kai. A huge cyptomeriatree rises in the foreground,and travelersare measuringits girth with joined hands. FromThe Thirty-sixViewsof Fuji.

45

Rainstormbeneath the summit. A forked flash lights up the luridgloom, and snowstreakedFujirisesred into a clear sky with white clouds at the horizon. From The Thirty-sixViewsof Fuji.

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CREDITS
in captions,all illustrations arewoodUnlessotherwise specified blockprints. printsother than those fromthe Captionsof the wood-block on descriptions arebased Binyon.The identiby Laurence Manga ficationof the birds(pp. 12-13) was madeby John Bull of the of Natural Museum American History. Mansfield The Howard Ehon Abumi: Musashi Collection,Gift of bookno. 107) illustrated 1936(Japanese Howard Mansfield, Giftof The Howard Mansfield Ehon noHomare: Wakan Collection, illustrated bookno. 110) 1936(Japanese Howard Mansfield, Mansfield Vols.III,VII-X, XII.The Howard Collection, Manga, bookno. 111) illustrated 1936(Japanese Giftof Howard Mansfield, illustrated Vol.VI:Purchase, Fund,1931(Japanese Rogers Manga, bookno. 81.6) HokusaiGashiki:The HowardMansfieldCollection, Gift of bookno. 120) illustrated 1936(Japanese Howard Mansfield, Gift of Mrs. Charles p. 6: CharlesStewartSmith Collection, Caswell Stewart Smith,Jr. and Howard Smith, CharlesStewart of Charles Stewart Smith,1914(14.76.60[25]) Smith;in memory Charles HewittFund,1911 pp. 10-11:Frederick (JP747) 1929.The H. of Mrs. 0. Havemeyer, 40-41: Bequest pp. 13,above; H. 0. Havemeyer Collection(JP1859; 1847) Fund,1936(JP2580; Rogers pp. 14, 16-17, 36-37, 45: Purchase, 2553;2565;2556) 39: Purchase, Fund,1936(JP2548;19) Rogers pp. 22, below; Giftof Samuel p. 23, below: 1914(JP1013) Isham, 34-35; 38, above; 38, below; 43, 33, below; pp. 24-25; 33, above; of above; 44; 46-47: The HenryL. PhillipsCollection.Bequest HenryL. Phillips, 1939 (JP2935;2997;2939;2983;2966;2967; 2984;2973;2961) Fund,1922 (JP1398;1285; pp. 30-31; 42; 43, below;44: Rogers 1324;1323) Fund,1919(JP1108) Rogers p. 32: Purchase, Smith Collection,Gift of Mrs.Charles Stewart p. 48: Charles Caswell Stewart Smith,Jr. and Howard Smith, CharlesStewart of Charles Stewart Smith;in memory Smith,1914(14.76.60[106])

THE PRINTING OF JAPANESE WOOD BLOCKS

in 1765,werethe collaboraMulticolor prints,whichoriginated whocoordia printer, anda publisher, tionof an artist,a carver, laid The artist the entireproduction. natedanddirected carefully facedownon the paste-covfinaldrawing his slightly moistened were of a woodblock.Whenthe blockanddrawing eredsurface the linesto be of the block,leaving cut away parts dry,the carver madecolornoteson monochrome in relief.The artist printed madefromthiskeyblock.The monochrome impresimpressions one foreach sionswereusedforcuttingadditional blocks,usually orL andhorizontal-shape blockkento, color.On every guide the colorsin the correct werecut to register position.Pigmarks, of the blockanda sheetof on the raised surface mentwasbrushed a circular witha baren, wasrubbed overit. The paper paper placed shoot.Thisprowiththe toughsheathof a bamboo padcovered in the wereprinted foreachcolor.The colors cesswasrepeated oftenseen of lighter to darker colors.The gradual order shading the in representations wasachieved of skyandwater bywiping blockwitha wetclothandthengoingoverthe areawitha wet in pigment. brush Specialeffects,suchasembossing, dipped weredonelast.
Y.B.

Man ridinga donkey. Brushdrawingin ink.

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