Hokusai's Images of Fuji

Although Hokusai probably applied generous artistic license to adjust the position and scale of the sacred mountain with respect to some of scenes depicted, Fuji (standing at over 12,000 feet high) still looms as an ever-present icon visible from great distances in Japan. I feel that Hokusai's body of work is divided into three main categories, which I call Backdrop to Life, Set in Scene, and Portrait. The first category emphasizes people, their work and leisure, their clothing, their customs, and their actions and interactions. The second group places Fuji in Hokusai's Japan, but emphasizes the setting over the people. The third are indeed portraits of the mountain itself, showing some of its different moods and faces.

Selections from 36 Views of Mt. Fuji
Although Hokusai probably applied generous artistic license to adjust the position and scale of the sacred mountain with respect to some of scenes depicted, Fuji (standing at over 12,000 feet high) still looms as an ever-present icon visible from great distances in Japan. I feel that Hokusai's body of work is divided into three main categories, which I call Backdrop to Life, Set in Scene, and Portrait. The first category emphasizes people, their work and leisure, their clothing, their customs, and their actions and interactions. The second group places Fuji in Hokusai's Japan, but emphasizes the setting over the people. The third are indeed portraits of the mountain itself, showing some of its different moods and faces.
Mt. Fuji as Backdrop to Life

Mt. Fuji Set in Scene

Portraits of Mt. Fuji

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