Meguro takaban
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
Katsushika Hokusai
Artwork Description
Meguro, located southwest of central Edo, was characterized by hilly terrain and open fields with clear views toward Mount Fuji. During the Edo period it served as a falconry ground for the shogunate, and the name Takaban preserves this historical association.
The composition unfolds across a gently rising slope. In the foreground, falconers stand with trained hawks, their vertical posture forming the dominant structural elements. A farmer kneels before them, creating a contrasting low horizontal line. To the left, a farmwoman moves forward carrying a hoe, a baby on her back, and leading a small child, while another farmer ascends the hill further beyond.
These figures establish layered depth across the incline. Diagonal lines of the slope guide the eye upward toward the center of the composition, where Mount Fuji appears with snow on its peak. The mountain occupies the middle distance, positioned calmly between the human activity in the foreground and the open sky above.
The scene balances contrasting modes of life: official falconry associated with samurai authority and agricultural labor rooted in rural daily life. The vertical presence of the falconers and the diagonal movement of the farmers create tension within the landscape. Fuji, centered and distant, stabilizes this tension.
The work situates controlled human activity within a broad natural setting. Movement occurs along the slope, while the mountain remains fixed at the horizon, reinforcing the series’ recurring contrast between transient human roles and enduring geological form.
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.
