Surugadai in Edo (Toto surugadai), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"
c. 1830/33
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
25.9 × 37.5 cm (10 3/16 × 14 3/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
24751
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century Japan with Katsushika Hokusai's *Surugadai in Edo (Tōto surugadai)*, a stunning color woodblock print from his series *Thirty-six Views Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)*, created around 1830–33. Hokusai, a master of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") style, captures Mount Fuji rising majestically behind the rooftops of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) as seen from Surugadai hill. This oban-sized print (25.9 × 37.5 cm) brings the sacred peak into everyday urban life, blending natural grandeur with bustling cityscapes. Printed during Japan's Edo peri...
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...