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HOKUSAI, Katsushika  (1760 - 1849)

Fugaku hyakkei  'One hundred views of Mt. Fuji' complete in three volumes - a very good set of a pre-Meiji period impression

Edition details: volume I & II: Publisher:                    Eirakuya Toshiro First published:           1834-35 This impression:         2nd edition; c. 1860 (Forrer: II-A / advertisement: F-44) Size:                               hanshibon (c. 23 x 16 cms / 9" x 6 1/8"), ea. vol. Collation / vol. details: Original yellow covers; white title strip printed in bluish-green; illustrations in bluish-grey; vol. I: 26 sheets with 19 dp. & 12 sp. ills. vol. II: 26 sheets with 20 dp. & 10 sp. ills. - Inside front cover: advertisement: 'F'; Inside back cover: advertisement: '44'; volume III: Publisher:                    Eirakuya Toshiro First published:           1840s This impression:         2nd edition; 1860s (Forrer: II-A / advertisement: F-47) Size:                               hanshibon (c. 23 x 16 cms / 9" x 6 1/8"), ea. vol. Collation / vol. details: Original yellow covers; white title strip printed in green; illustrations in bluish-grey; 26 sheets with 9 dp. & 32 sp. ills. - Inside front cover: advertisement: 'F'; Inside back cover: advertisement: '47'; Illustrations of the three volumes are shown in three sub-sections, each containing one complete volume. To view the contents of one of the three volumes, please, click on the related picture at right.

vol.  I vol.  II vol.  III

Much has been written about this masterpiece by Hokusai, Fugaku hyakkei, the ultimate in Japanese book illustration. - Henry Smith II (op.cit.) wrote: "Through the inexhaustible originality in presentation, Hokusai's glimpses of Mt. Fuji transmute the ordinary into the memorable. Relying on traditional themes and pictorial elements, he handles motifs freely without destroying the naturalness of the scene. However fortuitous the unexpected views of Mt. Fuji may seem, it is the artist's eye that has selected them. Fuji is seen behind the hanging strips of cloth outside the dyer's premises, beyond the umbrella top set out to dry in the yard, and through the close stems of swaying bamboo. Observing the mountain from what seem to be singular vantage points, Hokusai heightens the sense of compelling design." Reference: - Henry Smith II, "Hokusai - One hundred views of Mt. Fuji", New York, 1988   (reproducing ALL illustrations of the rare 'falcon feather' edition, with descriptive text and translation of print titles) - See also the monographs written on Hokusai by scholars like Jack Hillier, Richard Lane, Matthi Forrer, and others.

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