Sunshū Katakura Chaen no Fuji
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
Katsushika Hokusai
Artwork Description
Sunshū Katakura Chaen no Fuji depicts the tea plantations of Suruga Province, presenting far more than a rural landscape. Hokusai compresses the entire cycle of tea production into a single composition, transforming the scene into what might be called an industrial picture scroll.
In the foreground, women carefully pick tea leaves. Men shoulder baskets and carry the harvest across the fields. Horses transport bundled loads toward the buildings at the right, where processing and storage take place. White-walled warehouses stand beyond, completing the chain from cultivation to preservation. Each figure participates in a coordinated rhythm of labor.
Mount Fuji rises in the distance, its upper slopes still capped with snow. The mountain’s immovable presence contrasts with the intricate movement of human industry below. Nature provides the setting; humanity organizes and transforms its resources.
The composition is structured horizontally, guiding the eye across successive stages of production. Unlike works centered on storm or spiritual ascent, this print celebrates collective effort and economic vitality. It captures a moment when agriculture, trade, and landscape intersect beneath the same sky.
Although the precise location of “Katakura” remains debated, modern scholarship often associates it with Nakano in present-day Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The scene thus reflects both geographic reality and broader symbolism—Mount Fuji presiding over one of the region’s most important industries.
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 marked a decisive transformation in Japanese printmaking. Through innovative composition and thematic range—from storm and pilgrimage to labor and reflection—Hokusai redefined the expressive possibilities 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.
