Kōshū Isawa no Akatsuki
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
Katsushika Hokusai
Artwork Description
Kōshū Isawa no Akatsuki captures the break of dawn in the post town of Isawa along the Kōshū Kaidō. Today known for its hot springs, Isawa was once a vital station for travelers moving between Edo and the interior provinces. Hokusai renders the sky in gradual transition, where the final shadows of night dissolve into the first light of morning. Mount Fuji rises in the distance, its form still partially veiled in darkness.
The town is already in motion. Porters shoulder their burdens, horses are readied for departure, and travelers prepare to continue their journey. Palanquins stand poised at the edge of movement. The energy of departure contrasts with the quiet mass of Fuji beyond. This tension between activity and permanence gives the print its subtle dynamism.
The view represents what is often called “Ura Fuji,” the mountain seen from the Kōshū region rather than from the more frequently depicted Tōkaidō side. By including this reverse perspective, Hokusai expands the symbolic geography of the series. Fuji is not confined to one road or one vantage point. It remains constant while human life circulates beneath it.
The work captures a transitional hour. Night has not fully vanished, yet day has begun. Light and shadow coexist. Human endeavor resumes under an eternal mountain. The scene reflects renewal—a meditation on time, travel, and continuity.
About Katsushika Hokusai
Katsushika Hokusai was one of the most influential ukiyo-e artists of the Edo period. Active as both painter and printmaker, he expanded ukiyo-e beyond portraits of actors and courtesans into landscapes, nature, and scenes of daily life.
His series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji became one of the most celebrated achievements in Japanese printmaking. Through innovative perspectives, atmospheric effects, and structural clarity, Hokusai redefined the possibilities of landscape within ukiyo-e. His work later influenced European artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet during the nineteenth-century wave of Japonism.
Reproduction
This work is a 20th century lithographic reproduction of Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.
It is not an original Edo period woodblock print, but a later limited edition lithograph.
Hand printed and numbered 180/300 in pencil on the lower margin.
Details
Medium: Lithograph
Edition: 180/300
Size: 410 mm × 600 mm
All artworks are sold as shown in the photographs.
