Katsushika Hokusai
Culture: Japanese (1760-1849)
Title: Kōshū Mishimagoe [Mishima Pass in Kai Province], from the series Fugaku Sanjūrokkei [Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji]
Date Made: ca. 1823-1831
Type: Print
Materials: Woodblock print (woodcut); Nishiki-e, Ink and color on paper
Place Made: Asia; Japan
Measurements: Mat: 15 13/16 in x 20 in; 40.2 cm x 50.8 cm; Sheet/Image: 10 1/16 in x 14 11/16 in; 25.6 cm x 37.3 cm
Accession Number: MH 2004.5.13
Credit Line: Gift of Eugenia and Robert L. Herber
Another print from Hokusai`s series Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji, Mishima Pass in Kai Province highlights his skill in creating color gradation. In the background, Mount Fuji looms over the rest of the composition as it fades from a dark azure at its peak, to white in the middle, and a charcoal grey at its base. The large tree in the foreground also shows a gradient of color, as it is a dark, almost black green at the top with it softening down the trunk into a light greenish yellow. Both the clouds at the peak of the mountain and the dark, forested hills to the right provide another nice color contrast. Other prominent features of this print are the stylized clouds, which wrap and curve around Mount Fuji, bringing attention to its slopes and peaks. The slope of the mountain is mirrored by the strong diagonal lines of the tree branch that reaches out to the left and the hills that appear in the foreground on the right.