Tōto Surugachō Mitsui mise ryakuzu
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
Katsushika Hokusai
Artwork Description
This scene is set on Surugachō Street in Edo, where the Mitsui drapery shop Echigoya stood prominently on both sides of the road. The street axis leads directly toward Mount Fuji, which appears centered in the distance beyond the urban corridor.
The composition is constructed from a low vantage point, emphasizing the massive roof of the Mitsui shop in the foreground. The steep diagonal of the roofline dominates the right side of the image, creating a strong angular thrust across the picture plane. Workers repairing roof tiles move swiftly along its surface, their gestures reinforcing the diagonal direction.
Opposite the heavy roof mass, the open sky creates spatial relief. A kite bearing the character for longevity drifts above, its light diagonal movement counterbalancing the architectural weight below. The triangular form of Mount Fuji echoes the slanted roofline, establishing a geometric correspondence between foreground structure and distant mountain.
The street functions as a linear channel guiding the eye toward Fuji. Human activity unfolds along this commercial artery, while the mountain remains fixed beyond the dense urban fabric. The contrast between bustling commerce and distant stillness clarifies a central structural tension within the series.
The print situates economic vitality within a rigorously organized spatial system. The large roof, the narrow street axis, and the small yet centered Fuji establish equilibrium between urban scale and geological permanence.
About Katsushika Hokusai
Katsushika Hokusai was one of the most influential ukiyo-e artists of the Edo period. Active as painter and printmaker, he expanded ukiyo-e beyond portraiture into landscapes, nature, and scenes of everyday life.
In Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, Hokusai transformed landscape into a structural system—juxtaposing motion and stillness, labor and faith, industry and leisure—while anchoring each composition with the enduring presence of Mount Fuji.
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.
