Tago no ura
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
Katsushika Hokusai
Artwork Description
Mount Fuji rises in monumental stillness beyond the waters of Tago Bay, its distant peak anchoring a scene filled with motion and labor. In the foreground, two large boats rock upon the waves, their rowers straining at the oars, while along the shore villagers grill fish and rake salt.
The view of Tago Bay was long celebrated in classical poetry. In the Nara period, Yamabe no Akahito wrote, “From Tago Bay, when I go out and look, it is white as though snow has fallen on lofty Mount Fuji.” Hokusai draws upon this poetic tradition, yet transforms it into a living landscape where human activity unfolds beneath Fuji’s quiet permanence.
Rather than presenting the bay as an abstract scenic landmark, Hokusai integrates work, movement, and daily life into the composition. The boats, the villagers, and the rhythmic sweep of shoreline lead the eye toward the towering mountain, uniting culture, labor, and nature within a single, balanced structure.
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. Hokusai’s work profoundly 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.
