"Groups of Mountain Climbers" from 36 views of Mt.Fuji series by Hokusai

Description : 

Shōnin Tozan (Groups of Mountain Climbers)

This print, one of the final works in Hokusai’s expanded Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji series, is unique in that it does not depict Mount Fuji itself. Instead, it focuses entirely on the steep and spiritual climb undertaken by pilgrims of the Fujikō faith.

Dressed in white robes, the climbers navigate crimson cliffs and swirling mist, ascending through rugged terrain. Their poses, often bent or straining, convey the physical challenge and inner devotion of the pilgrimage.

What sets this work apart is Hokusai’s use of multiple visual perspectives within a single frame: bird’s-eye, horizontal, and upward viewpoints coexist to depict motion, direction, and symbolic transformation. The upper-right grotto—filled with tiny, huddled figures—feels like a separate sacred realm, layered like a visual collage.

This print is often regarded as one of Hokusai’s most avant-garde compositions, anticipating visual strategies later seen in Cubism and modernist art. It stands not only as a tribute to religious faith, but also as a bold experiment in visual storytelling.

Hokusai Katsushika : 
Known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese Ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. 
He is best known for the woodblock print series Thirty six views of Mt Fuji, which includes the iconic print The Great Wave Off Kanagawa. Hokusai was instrumental in developing Ukiyo-e from a style of portraiture largely focused on courtesans and actors into a much broader style of art that focused on landscapes, plants, and animals. His works are thought to have had a significant influence on Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monete during the wave of Japonism that spread across Europe in the late 19th century.

REPRODUCTION : In the 20th century, artists and publishers collaborated to recreate famous woodblock prints, providing them to Japanese collectors and Westerners seeking rare designs.
New blocks were made, and artisan printers painstakingly printed each color using the same method as the 19th-century originals.

Limited edition lithograph
Hand-printed, numbered 180/300 on margin.
Size : 
410mm x 600mm