Kōshū Misaka Suimen
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
Katsushika Hokusai
Artwork Description
Kōshū Misaka Suimen depicts Mount Fuji as seen from the Misaka Pass, which connects the Kōfu Basin to Lake Kawaguchi in Kai Province. Created around 1831, the print presents one of Hokusai’s most contemplative compositions.
At first glance, the mountain appears reflected in the still lake below. Yet the image is not a faithful mirror. The reflected Fuji is snowcapped, while the actual mountain above is rendered in summer tones. This deliberate divergence disrupts natural logic and introduces a subtle tension between reality and perception.
The surface of the lake is calm, almost immobile. A small boat glides diagonally across the water, establishing gentle rhythm within the otherwise symmetrical arrangement. Hokusai employs refined gradations of Prussian blue to create atmospheric depth, while warm orange tones illuminate the sunlit slopes. The transition from turquoise to deeper ultramarine enhances the sense of balance.
Rather than simple symmetry, the composition suggests inversion. The reflected mountain functions as an alternate presence—less a copy than a transformed state. Through this device, Hokusai introduces a meditation on duality: seen and unseen, present and imagined, summer and winter coexisting within one image.
The stillness of the water and the displacement of the reflection evoke a world suspended between surface and depth. Here, nature is not dramatic but introspective. The print transforms landscape into quiet metaphysics.
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 represents a turning point in Japanese printmaking. Through structural experimentation, atmospheric color, and inventive perspective, Hokusai reshaped the expressive language of landscape within ukiyo-e.
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.
