A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces

Last updated
Kirifuri Waterfall at Kurokami Mountain in Shimotsuke, 1831-1833 Hokusai au musee Guimet (8207452088).jpg
Kirifuri Waterfall at Kurokami Mountain in Shimotsuke, 1831-1833

A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces (Shokoku taki meguri) is a series of landscape woodblock prints by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai.

Contents

Completed c. 1833–34 and containing eight prints, it was the first ukiyo-e series to approach the theme of falling water, [1] and was acclaimed for its innovative and expressive depictions. The waterfalls take up most of each sheet, dwarfing the scenes' human inhabitants, and are rendered by Hokusai with a powerful sense of life, reflecting his animistic beliefs. [2]

Background

Hokusai was a follower of Nichiren Buddhism. Buddhism in Japan was entwined with Shinto's older animistic beliefs: that gods and spirits inhabit the surrounding nature, such as trees, rocks or animals. The waterfalls Hokusai chose to illustrate are located in the central, western and eastern parts of Japan's main island (Honshu). The regions chosen were well known sites of pilgrimage by the travelers of his time. Some have been forgotten, but the waterfalls, Kirifuri, Amida and Yōrō, are among Japan's 100 most beautiful even today.[ who? ]

Content

In the Waterfall series, using newly imported Prussian blue pigment that was fashionable at that time, Hokusai paints each waterfall differently, in order to emphasize the unique beauty of each site and to outline his belief that water was sacred. All the prints are in vertical format. Hokusai uses an abundance of color, in order to highlight the new and main theme: the falling water. [3] Besides using imported blue pigments, the artist also adds contrasting yellows, browns and greens to paint the surrounding forested mountains.

Two highlights from the series are Hokusai's depictions of Kirifuri and Amida waterfalls. In Kirifuri, the waterfall appears to be alive, described as a "fierce alien" with "tentacles expanding and contracting". [4] In Amida, Hokusai combines two different points of view with in one scene. The round gorge before the falls was considered to resemble the head of Buddha, [5] and Hokusai renders it with a sense of mystery by depicting it from a bird's-eye view, while the rest of the scene is portrayed from the front. the print has been called "a masterpiece of landscape art". [6]

Related Research Articles

Hokusai Japanese artist

Katsushika Hokusai, known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. Hokusai is best known for the woodblock print series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji which includes the internationally iconic print The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi Japanese artist

Utagawa Kuniyoshi was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting. He was a member of the Utagawa school.

Hiroshige Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print artist

Utagawa Hiroshige, born Andō Hiroshige, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.

<i>Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji</i> (Hiroshige) Series of 19th-century woodblock prints by Hiroshige

Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji is the title of two series of woodblock prints by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hiroshige, depicting Mount Fuji in differing seasons and weather conditions from a variety of different places and distances. The 1852 series, published by Sanoya Kihei, are in landscape orientation using the chūban format, while the 1858 series are in the portrait ōban format and were published by Tsutaya Kichizō. The same subject had previously been dealt with by Hokusai in two of his own series, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, produced from c. 1830 to 1832, and One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, published in three volumes from 1834 to 1849.

<i>Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji</i> Woodblock prints by Katsushika Hokusai

Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji 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.

<i>The Great Wave off Kanagawa</i> Woodblock print by Hokusai

The Great Wave off Kanagawa, also known as The Great Wave or simply The Wave, is a woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai. It was published sometime between 1829 and 1833 in the late Edo period as the first print in Hokusai's series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. The image depicts an enormous wave threatening three boats off the coast in the Sagami Bay while Mount Fuji rises in the background. Sometimes assumed to be a tsunami, the wave is more likely to be a large rogue wave.

<i>Oceans of Wisdom</i> Series of woodblock prints by Katsushika Hokusai

Chie no umi (千絵の海) is a chūban yoko-e sized woodblock print series by the Japanese artist Hokusai. The ten fishing-themed prints comprise one of Hokusai's rarest sets. Published by Moriya Jihei, it seems to have been issued around 1832–1834 and publication of the prints ceased abruptly. Some preparatory drawings are extant for prints that were never made.

<i>E-hon</i>

E-hon or Ehon (絵本) is the Japanese term for picture books. It may be applied in the general sense, or may refer specifically to a type of woodblock printed illustrated volume published in the Edo period.

<i>Fine Wind, Clear Morning</i> Woodblock print by Hokusai

Fine Wind, Clear Morning, also known as Red Fuji, is a woodblock print by Japanese artist Hokusai (1760–1849), part of his Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series, dating from c. 1830 to 1832. The work has been described as "one of the simplest and at the same time one of the most outstanding of all Japanese prints".

<i>View of Tenpōzan Park in Naniwa</i>

The two ukiyo-e woodblock prints making up View of Tempōzan Park in Naniwa are half of a tetraptych by Osaka artist Gochōtei Sadamasu. They depict a scene of crowds visiting Mount Tempō in springtime to admire its natural beauty. The sheets belong to the permanent collection of the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada.

Katsushika Ōi

Katsushika Ōi, also known as Ei (栄), was a Japanese Ukiyo-e artist of the early 19th century Edo period. Her mother was the second wife of Hokusai. Ōi was an accomplished painter who also worked as a production assistant to her father.

<i>Three Travellers before a Waterfall</i>

Three Travellers before a Waterfall is an ukiyo-e woodblock print by Osaka-based late Edo period print designer Ryūsai Shigeharu (1802–1853). It depicts a light-hearted scene of two men and one woman travelling on foot through the country-side. The print belongs to the permanent collection of the Prince Takamado Gallery of Japanese Art in the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada.

<i>A View of Mount Fuji Across Lake Suwa</i> Japanese woodblock print by Hokusai

A View of Mount Fuji Across Lake Suwa is a woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai.

The Great Daruma was a monumental portrait created by Japanese artist Hokusai on 5 October 1817. Also known as the Great Bodhidarma, the work is a depiction of Bodhidharma, known in Japan as Daruma, a revered Buddhist monk of the 5th or 6th century. The original artwork was destroyed by the bombing of Nagoya in May 1945.

<i>Kajikazawa in Kai Province</i> Japanese woodblock print by Hokusai

Kajikazawa in Kai Province is a woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai.

<i>Thunderstorm Beneath the Summit</i> Japanese woodblock print by Hokusai

Thunderstorm Beneath the Summit, also known as Rainstorm Beneath the Summit, or sometimes Black Fuji is a woodcut print by the Japanese ukiyo-e master Hokusai (1760–1849). It is one of the most famous prints from his celebrated Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series, published c. 1830–1832.

<i>One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji</i> Series of illustrated books by Hokusai

One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji is a series of three illustrated books by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai. It is considered one of Japan's most exceptional illustrated books (e-hon), and alongside the Hokusai Manga, the most influential in the West. The first two volumes were published in 1834 and 1835, shortly after completion of his seminal Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, with a third released in the late 1840s.

<i>Tiger in the Snow</i> Painting by Hokusai

Tiger in the Snow is a hanging scroll (kakemono) painted by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai in 1849. It is one of the last works he produced in his long and prolific career.

Egawa Tomekichi Japanese woodblock carver

Egawa Tomekichi was a master carver of Japanese woodblock prints in Edo period Japan.

References

  1. ↑ Forrer, Matthi; Hokusai, Katshushika (1991). Hokusai: prints and drawings. Prestel.
  2. ↑ Calza, Gian Carlo (2003). Hokusai. Phaidon. p. 489. ISBN   0714844578.
  3. ↑ Nagata, Seiji; Hokusai, Katsushika (1999). Hokusai: genius of the Japanese ukiyo-e. Oxford University Press.
  4. ↑ Calza, Gian Carlo (2003). Hokusai. Phaidon. p. 66. ISBN   0714844578.
  5. ↑ King, James (2010). Beyond the Great Wave: The Japanese Landscape Print, 1727-1960. Peter Lang. ISBN   9783034303170.
  6. ↑ Calza, Gian Carlo (2003). Hokusai. Phaidon. p. 490. ISBN   0714844578.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.