Comment - Hongan-ji Temple at Asakusa in Edo - Mount Fuji view with the rooftop of Honganji Temple in the foreground. It is New Year's Day, a bird-of-prey kite ("tonbi dako", "鳶凧") is flying over the roof tops, and workers replace tiles on the huge temple roof. This print may be found on several kite stamps, representing Japanesese Art.

Asakusa was the most populous district in Edo in Hokusai's time. Its streets were crowded with stores where busy merchants and craftsmen lived and vigorously plied their trades. One of the district's landmarks was the enormous Asakusa Hongan-ji Temple, built in 1657, which belonged to a branch of Kyoto Higashi Hongan-ji, the headquarters of Buddhism's Eastern School of the Pure Land (Jōdo) sect. Begun in the Late Heian period (late eleventh century), the Jōdo ("Pure Land") sect quickly gained a large following. It had one simple, compassionate teaching – that enlightenment (salvation) could be attained not through the study of sutras or observation of complicated rituals, as required in other sects, but simply by sincerely calling Amida’s name. In the Edo period, this teaching spread, and Jōdo became the largest Buddhist sect, with large temples all over Japan.

In this composition, HOKUSAI brought the temple building so close to the foreground that only the triangle of the roof's pediment is visible. Looking down, one can observe the sea of roofs of smaller houses, over which decorative clouds float. Mount Fuji, above them, repeats the roof's shape. Hokusai’s dramatic compositional scheme enlarges the temple roof to an enormous proportion, dwarfing houses and the mountain. On the temple's steep roof, workmen are busy making repairs. Their exaggerated, precise postures are drawn from studies HOKUSAI made of form and movement, which culminated in the publication of his sketchbooks ("Mangas"). The towering structure at the left is a scaffold rising over a well excavation. A bird-of prey kite indicates, that the season is winter, most likely New Year's day. The windy days of winter are best for flying kites, the symbol of the new year. The bokashi-shading of pale pink in the cloud and the kite enlivens a monochromatic blue print. The key-block was printed in blue.

Mount Fuji is a sacred place and a symbol of the country itself. Rising majestically near the center of Japan, Fuji dominates the landscape and the Japanese national identity. The Mountain is seen from an improbably high perspective beyond the roof of Hongan-ji Temple, an important Jōdo ("Pure Land") Buddhist temple built in 1657 that served Edo’s most populous district of Asakusa. The roof of the temple has been cropped so that its pediment appears massive in the lower right corner, dwarfing the workmen perched precariously near the top. The roof echoes the triangular shape of Mount Fuji in the distance, while its heavy form is balanced by the delicate scaffolding on the left. Hokusai favored the technique of juxtaposing Mount Fuji with a similarly shaped architectural element seen from a cropped high perspective, and used it several times in the Thirty-six Views, with an especially close composition found in "View of the Mitsui Stores at Surugachō in Edo". In addition, both prints place kites at their center, suggesting the festivities of New Year's Day and the related symbolism of Mount Fuji for this holiday.


Series -The series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" ("富嶽三十六景", "Fugaku Sanjūrokkei") originally intended to comprise thirty-six prints. Because of its enormous success, the publisher added an additional ten images, bringing the series total to forty-six woodblocks. Originally published around 1830, HOKUSAI's bold compositions capture the strength, beauty, and symbolism of Mt. Fuji in rain and snow, at sunrise and dusk, and from a variety of vantage points. The series includes some of HOKUSAI's greatest masterpieces. These fantastic images portray the strength and majesty of nature, leading the viewer to contemplate man's place in relation to the natural world. A truly magnificent series, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji justly remains HOKUSAI's most famous and highly regarded work.


Reprint - Takamizawa was formerly a renowned restaurator of woodblock prints. He started his editing business in 1911 during Taishō era (大正時代 Taishō-jidai). In the mid 20th century, with the increase in Western visitors to Japan and the interest in the Edo era woodblock print tradition, some of the best publishing houses began to release high quality ukiyo-e of the most famous scenery and portrait prints from the Edo era. It was during this time that Takamizawa Mokuhansha Publisher's, the finest reprint publisher of the era, began work on a release of HOKUSAI's 36 Views of Fuji.
Drawing on the traditions and methods of the Edo era, the prints were produced with the original Edo era colors and printed on beautiful handmade paper. The prints were produced with the utmost care and great attention to detail, masterfully reproducing color, linework and even woodgrain detail. Takamizawa's 36 Fuji prints were a fantastic achievement and were released to great acclaim. Some of the most popular subjects, such as Red Fuji and the Great Wave, quickly became a scarce commodity. Takamizawa's 36 Fuji prints are considered to be the finest reprints of HOKUSAI's series ever done. Today, these prints are valuable and highly sought after by collectors.


Artist - see Biography


Signature -  Zen HOKUSAI tame hitofude ("前北斎為一筆", "previously drawn by HOKUSAI")


Publisher - Takamizawa Mokuhansha (高見沢木版社); (Reprint 1919)


Image Size -   15.2 x  20.3 cm    (6" x 8") + margins as shown)


Condition - Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper, single sheet, horizontal ôban; Yoko-e ('landscape')