Fuji from Kanaya on the Tokaido (Tokaido Kanaya no Fuji), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)

Art Historical Context

Katsushika Hokus, the legendary Japanese artist of the Edo period (1603–1868), *Fuji from Kanaya the Tōkaidō* around 1830–32 as part of his revolutionary series *Thirty-six Views Mt. Fuji* (*Fugaku sanjūrokkei*). This color woodblock print, in the large oban format (24.8 × 38.8 cm), captures Mount Fuji from the coastal village of Kanaya along the Tōkaidō, one of Japan's historic five post roads connecting Edo (modern Tokyo) to Kyoto. Hokusai's ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") style elevated everyday landscapes into timeless art, making Mount Fuji—a sacred symbol of Japan—the star of ...

About the Artist

Katsushika Hokusai · 1760–1849

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) stands as one of history's most influential artists, a Japanese master who revolutionized the ukiyo-e woodblock print tradition and profoundly shaped Western art. Born in the Katsushika district of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to an artisan family, Hokusai lived through nearly nine decades of extraordinary creative evolution, adopting over thirty different artistic names t...