Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

For other uses, see Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (disambiguation).

File:Great Wave off Kanagawa2.jpg

The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the best known print in the series (20th century reprint). Mount Fuji is in the center distance.

Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Japanese: 富嶽三十六景, Hepburn: Fugaku Sanjūrokkei) is a series of landscape prints by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai (1760–1849). The series depicts Mount Fuji from different locations and in various seasons and weather conditions. The immediate success of the publication led to another ten prints being added to the series.

The series was produced from c. 1830 to 1832, when Hokusai was in his seventies and at the height of his career, and published by Nishimura Yohachi. Among the prints are three of Hokusai's most famous: The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Fine Wind, Clear Morning, and Thunderstorm Beneath the Summit. The lesser-known Kajikazawa in Kai Province is also considered one of the series' best works. The Thirty-six Views has been described as the artist's "indisputable colour-print masterpiece".

History

Mount Fuji is a popular subject for Japanese art due to its cultural and religious significance. This belief can be traced to The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, where a goddess deposits the elixir of life on the peak. As the historian Henry Smith explains, "Thus from an early time, Mt. Fuji was seen as the source of the secret of immortality, a tradition that was at the heart of Hokusai's own obsession with the mountain."

Each image was made through a process whereby Hokusai's drawing on paper was glued to a woodblock to guide the carving. The original design is therefore lost in the process. The block was then covered with ink and applied to paper to create the image (see Woodblock printing in Japan for further details). The complexity of Hokusai's images includes the wide range of colors he used, which required the use of a separate block for each color appearing in the image.

The earliest prints in the series were made with largely blue tones (aizuri-e), including the key blocks which provide an image's outlines. Prussian blue pigment had not long before been introduced to Japan from Europe and Hokusai used it extensively, ensuring its popularity. Once the publisher, Nishimura, was sure of the series' success, prints were made with multiple colours (nishiki-e). Nishimura had planned to expand the series to more than a hundred prints, but publication stopped at forty-six.

The most famous single image from the series is widely known in English as The Great Wave off Kanagawa. It is Hokusai's most celebrated work and is often considered the most recognizable work of Japanese art in the world. Another iconic work from Thirty-six Views is Fine Wind, Clear Morning, also known as Red Fuji, which has been described as "one of the simplest and at the same time one of the most outstanding of all Japanese prints".

Influence

While Hokusai's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji is the most famous ukiyo-e series to focus on Mount Fuji, there are several other works with the same subject, including Hiroshige's later series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji and Hokusai's subsequent book One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji (published 1834–1835).

In his 1896 book on Hokusai, French art critic Edmond de Goncourt wrote that despite its "rather crude colors", it was, "the album which inspires the landscapes of the impressionists of the present moment." The French artist Henri Rivière (1864–1951) published the set of color lithographs "Thirty-six views of the Tour Eiffel" in 1902, inspired by the seminal print set of Hokusai, one of the many influences of Japanese art on late 19th century and early 20th century French art (Japonism, known as "Japonisme" in French)

Prints

Original thirty-six

No.	Image	English title	Japanese title
1	File:Great Wave off Kanagawa2.jpg	The Great Wave off Kanagawa	神奈川沖浪裏 Kanagawa oki nami-ura
2	File:Red Fuji southern wind clear morning.jpg	Fine Wind, Clear Morning, also known as South Wind, Clear Sky or Red Fuji	凱風快晴 Gaifū kaisei
3	File:Katsushika Hokusai, tempesta sotto la vetta, dalla serie delle 36 vedute del monte fuji, 1831 ca.jpg	Thunderstorm Beneath the Summit	山下白雨 Sanka hakuu
4	File:冨嶽三十六景 深川万年橋下-Under the Mannen Bridge at Fukagawa (Fukagawa Mannenbashi shita), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141017.jpg	Under Mannen Bridge at Fukagawa	深川万年橋下 Fukagawa Mannen-bashi shita
5	File:冨嶽三十六景 東都駿台-Surugadai in Edo (Tōto Sundai), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP140999.jpg	Sundai, Edo	東都駿台 Tōto Sundai
6	File:The coast of seven leages in Kamakura.jpg	The Cushion Pine at Aoyama	青山円座松 Aoyama Enza-no-matsu
7	File:冨嶽三十六景 武州千住-Senju in Musashi Province (Bushū Senju), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141087.jpg	Senju (state station) in Musashi Province	武州千住 Bushū Senju
8	File:冨嶽三十六景 武州玉川-Fuji—The Tama River, Musashi Province, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP140975.jpg	Tama River in Musashi Province	武州玉川 Bushū Tama-gawa
9	File:冨嶽三十六景 甲州犬目峠-The Inume Pass in Kai Province (Kōshū Inume tōge), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141045.jpg	Inume Pass in Kai Province	甲州犬目峠 Kōshū Inume-tōge
10	File:冨嶽三十六景 尾州不二見原-Fujimigahara in Owari Province (Bishū Fujimigahara), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141033.jpg	Fujimigahara Field in Owari Province	尾州不二見原 Bishū Fujimigahara
11	File:Asakusa Honganji temple in th Eastern capital.jpg	Asakusa Hongan Temple in Edo	東都浅草本願寺 Tōto Asakusa Hongan-ji
12	File:冨嶽三十六景 武陽佃島-Tsukudajima in Musashi Province (Buyō Tsukudajima), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141089.jpg	Tsukuda Island in Edo	武陽佃島 Buyō Tsukuda-jima
13	File:冨嶽三十六景 相州七里浜-Shichirigahama in Sagami Province (Sōshū Shichirigahama), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP140979.jpg	Shichirigahama in Sagami Province	相州七里浜 Soshū Shichirigahama
14	File:Umegawa in Sagami province.jpg	Umezawa in Sagami Province (near present-day Ninomiya, Kanagawa)	相州梅沢左 Soshū Umezawa-no-hidari
15	File:Kajikazawa in Kai Province (Koshu Kajikazawa).jpg	Kajikazawa in Kai Province	甲州石班沢 Kōshū Kajikazawa
16	File:冨嶽三十六景 甲州三島越-Mishima Pass in Kai Province (Kōshū Mishima goe), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141043.jpg	Mishima Pass in Kai Province (near present-day Kagosaka Pass)	甲州三嶌越 Kōshū Mishima-goe
17	File:Het Suwa meer in de provincie Shinano Shinshu Suwako (titel op object) 36 gezichten op de berg Fuji (serietitel) Fugaku sanjurokkei (serietitel op object), RP-P-1956-730.jpg	A View of Mount Fuji Across Lake Suwa (Lake Suwa in Shinano Province)	信州諏訪湖 Shinshū Suwa-ko
18	File:冨嶽三十六景 駿州江尻-Ejiri in Suruga Province (Sunshū Ejiri), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP140977.jpg	Ejiri in Suruga Province	駿州江尻 Sunshū Ejiri
19	File:冨嶽三十六景 遠江山中-In the Mountains of Tōtomi Province (Tōtomi sanchū), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP140988.jpg	In the Mountains of Tōtōmi Province	遠江山中 Tōtōmi san-chū
20	File:冨嶽三十六景 常州牛掘-Ushibori in Hitachi Province (Jōshū Ushibori), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141044.jpg	Ushibori in Hitachi Province (present-day Itako, Ibaraki)	常州牛堀 Jōshū Ushibori
21	File:A sketch of the Mitsui shop in Suruga street in Edo.jpg	A Sketch of the Mitsui Shop in Suruga in Edo (present-day Muromachi, Tokyo)	江都駿河町三井見世略図 Kōto Suruga-cho Mitsui-mise ryakuzu
22	File:Sunset across the Ryogoku bridge from the bank of the Sumida river at Onmagayashi.jpg	Sunset Across Ryōgoku Bridge from Ommayagashi (present-day Kuramae, Taitō, Tokyo)	御厩川岸より両国橋夕陽見 Ommayagashi yori Ryōgoku-bashi yūhi-mi
23	File:冨嶽三十六景 五百らかん寺さざゐどう-Sazai Hall at the Temple of the Five Hundred Arhats (Gohyaku Rakanji Sazaidō), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141020.jpg	Sazaidō at Gohyakurakan Temple	五百らかん寺さざゐどう Gohyakurakan-ji Sazaidō
24	File:Besneeuwde ochtend in Koishikawa-Rijksmuseum AK-MAK-1588.jpeg	Morning After a Snowfall at Koishikawa	礫川雪の旦 Koishikawa yuki no ashita
25	File:冨嶽三十六景 下目黒-Lower Meguro (Shimo Meguro), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP140998.jpg	Shimomeguro	下目黒 Shimomeguro
26	File:冨嶽三十六景 隠田の水車-The Waterwheel at Onden (Onden no suisha), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141021.jpg	Watermill at Onden	隠田の水車 Onden no suisha
27	File:Enoshima in the Sagami province.jpg	Enoshima in Sagami Province	相州江の島 Soshū Enoshima
28	File:冨嶽三十六景 東海道江尻田子の浦略図-Tago Bay near Ejiri on the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō Ejiri Tago no ura ryaku zu), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141037.jpg	Sketch of Tago Bay, Ejiri Along the Tōkaidō	東海道江尻田子の浦略図 Tōkaidō Ejiri Tago-no-ura ryakuzu
29	File:冨嶽三十六景 東海道吉田-Yoshida on the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō Yoshida), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141007.jpg	Yoshida Along the Tōkaidō	東海道吉田 Tōkaidō Yoshida
30	File:冨嶽三十六景 上総の海路-At Sea off Kazusa (Kazusa no kairo), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141056.jpg	Kazusa Province Sea Route	上総の海路 Kazusa no kairo
31	File:冨嶽三十六景 江戸日本橋-Nihonbashi in Edo (Edo Nihonbashi), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141003.jpg	Nihonbashi in Edo	江戸日本橋 Edo Nihonbashi
32	File:冨嶽三十六景 隅田川関屋の里-Sekiya Village on the Sumida River (Sumidagawa Sekiya no sato), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141023.jpg	Sekiya Village on the Sumida River (near present-day Keisei Sekiya Station)	隅田川関屋の里 Sumida-gawa Sekiya-no-sato
33	File:冨嶽三十六景 登戸浦-Noboto Bay (Noboto no ura), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141022.jpg	Noboto Bay (present-day Chūō-ku, Chiba)	登戸浦 Noboto-ura
34	File:The lake of Hakone in the Segami province.jpg	Hakone Lake in Sagami Province	相州箱根湖水 Sōshū Hakone-kosui
35	File:冨嶽三十六景 甲州三坂水面-Reflection in Lake at Misaka in Kai Province (Kōshū Misaka suimen), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei MET DP141064.jpg	Reflection from Misaka Pass in Kai Province (in Lake Kawaguchi)	甲州三坂水面 Kōshū Misaka suimen
36	File:冨嶽三十六景 東海道保土ケ谷-Hodogaya on the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō Hodogaya), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) MET DP141025.jpg	Hodogaya Along the Tōkaidō	東海道保土ケ谷 Tōkaidō Hodogaya

Additional 10

No.	Image	English title	Japanese title
1 (37)	File:Honjo Tatekawa, the timberyard at Honjo.jpg	Tate River from the Timberyard at Honjo (in present-day Sumida, Tokyo)	本所立川 Honjo Tatekawa
2 (38)	File:Nakahara in the Sagami province.jpg	A View of Mount Fuji from the Pleasure District at Senju (state station)	従千住花街眺望の不二 Senju Hana-machi yori chōbō no Fuji
3 (39)	File:Katsushika Hokusai, Goten-yama hill, Shinagawa on the Tōkaidō, ca. 1832.jpg	Gotenyama, Shinagawa Along the Tōkaidō	東海道品川御殿山の不二 Tōkaidō Shinagawa Goten'yama no Fuji
4 (40)	File:Soshu Nakahara.jpg	Nakahara in Sagami Province (in present-day Hiratsuka, Kanagawa)	相州仲原 Sōshū Nakahara
5 (41)	File:Dawn at Isawa in the Kai province.jpg	Dawn at Isawa in Kai Province	甲州伊沢暁 Kōshū Isawa no Akatsuki
6 (42)	File:The back of the Fuji from the Minobu river.jpg	The Back of Fuji from the Minobu River (possibly actually the Fuji River near present-day Minobu, Yamanashi)	身延川裏不二 Minobu-gawa ura Fuji
7 (43)	File:Ono Shindon in the Suraga province.jpg	Ōno Field in Suruga Province	駿州大野新田 Sunshū Ōno-shinden
8 (44)	File:The Tea plantation of Katakura in the Suruga province.jpg	Tea Plantation at Katakura in Suruga Province (near present-day Nakano, Fuji, Shizuoka)	駿州片倉茶園の不二 Sunshū Katakura-chaen no Fuji
9 (45)	File:The Fuji from Kanaya on the Tokaido.jpg	Kanaya Along the Tōkaidō	東海道金谷の不二 Tōkaidō Kanaya no Fuji
10 (46)	File:Climbing on Mt. Fuji.jpg	Climbing on Fuji	諸人登山 Shojin tozan

Exhibitions

A collection of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji prints contained in the wellness spa of the Costa Concordia was lost during the allision of the ship on January 13, 2012.

In the spring of 2012, all forty-six prints (the original thirty-six plus the ten additions) were featured in the exhibition Hokusai: 36 Views of Mount Fuji at the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C..

The Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji prints were displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston as part of a Hokusai exhibit from 5 April to 9 August, 2015.

The Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji prints were displayed at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia as part of a Hokusai exhibit from 21 July through 22 October 2017. The exhibit featured two copies of The Great Wave off Kanagawa, one from the NGV and one from Japan Ukiyo-e Museum.

There are fewer than 10 complete sets of the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, with prominent pieces held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MFA Boston, the British Museum, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Markets

Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji is often sold in prominent auction houses focused on Japanese art, such as that of Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, etc.

In 2002, a complete set sold at Sotheby's went for $1.47 million, through an anonymous buyer.

In 2013, another complete set was assembled by Dr. Jitendra V. Singh, a professor from Wharton School, who was inspired by Mt. Fuji from seeing the mountain on flights to Japan as well as his previous Hindu pilgrimages to Mount Everest and Mount Kailash. He purchased Fuji Seen From Kanaya on the Tokaido first, with the iconic pieces acquired from 2014 to 2016, the final print was acquired in January 2023.

On 19 March 2024, the Singh collection went onto auction at Christie's, which then sold for $3.559 million from an estimated bid of $3–5 million. The proceeds has gone into Singh's trust.

See also

• One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji
• Three Views of Japan
• Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Hiroshige

References

• Balcou, Amelie (2019). "Hokusai: Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji". Prestel. .
• Marks, Andreas (2021). "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji". New York: Taschen. .
• Nagata, Seiji (1999). Hokusai: Genius of the Japanese Ukiyo-e. Tokyo: Kodansha.
• Price, Jonathan Reeve (2020). "Viewing Hokusai Viewing Mount Fuji". Albuquerque, New Mexico: Communication Circle. .
• Smith, Henry D. II (1988). Hokusai: One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji. New York: George Braziller, Inc., Publishers. .
• Thompson, Sarah (2019). "Hokusai's Landscapes: The Complete Series". Boston: MFA Publications. .
• Zelazny, Roger (1985). "24 Views of Mount Fuji". In Cthulu 2000: Stories (1995). Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. .

External links

• Hokusai's 36 Views of Mount Fuji
• A short biography of Hokusai including a section on the 36 Views of Mt. Fuji series.
• A brief description and woodblock reprint collection of Hokusai's 36 Views of Mt. Fuji series.