"Senju in Musashi Province" from 36 views of Mt.Fuji series by Hokusai

Description : 

Senju in Musashi Province is part of Katsushika Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (c.1830–32).
Senju, located in present-day Adachi Ward, was one of Edo’s four major post towns—an important gateway toward the northern regions along the Ōshū and Nikkō highways. Yet Hokusai does not depict the bustling inn town itself. Instead, he turns his attention slightly away from the post station, toward the rural canals and fields that stretched across Edo’s northeastern outskirts.

The wide canal crossing the picture corresponds to the upper course of the Sumida River, which in the Edo period roughly followed the current path of the Arakawa. A water gate rises at the center, its stark vertical lines cutting across the landscape and framing the distant Fuji.

Hokusai constructs the composition in two halves.
On the right: a farmer and his weary horse, burdened with senju-negi, move with energetic weight; behind them the water gate and Fuji form a strict geometric axis.
On the left: two fishermen sit quietly by the canal, casting lines into still water under open sky.

Separately, each half feels unbalanced—dense on one side, sparse on the other.
But when brought together, they reveal a masterful harmony: a dialogue of density and openness, motion and stillness.

This subtle equilibrium—achieved through geometry rather than realism—shows Hokusai at his most brilliant. He transforms an ordinary rural scene into a study of compositional tension, where human labor, landscape, and Fuji’s distant silhouette converge in quiet balance.

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