In the line of beauty
A timeless humanity in Hokusai’s sublime engravings of Japanese life and landscape still has the power to dazzle
Review by Michael Bird
May 2011 - From the Print Edition
Nearly two centuries after Japanese artist Hokusai first published his illustrated views of Mount Fuji, his works have become a cliché for the western understanding of Japanese culture – elongated stick-like figures, trees, boats and bridges and the snowy pyramid of Mount Fuji, ever-present - stalking the countryside like an uninvited guest. Endlessly reprinted at the time of their realisation, they have since become such a ubiquitous image in classrooms, book covers, posters and articles linked to Japanese culture, that their impact can seem as blunted as wallpaper.
So it is worth taking an opportunity to reappraise the originals in the correct context. On display at Romania’s National Museum of Arts are the entire 36 illustrations from Hokusai (1760 - 1849) showing views of Mount Fuji, published between 1829 and 1833 in the ukiyo-e – or floating world – genre of woodblock prints.
The mountain becomes an axle on which the seasons and the activities of the Japanese rotates, such as house-building, water-carrying, fishing, sight-seeing and farming.
Present are motifs which have become synonymous with the international view of Japan – the red earth of Fuji, the claw-like wave off Kanagawa and the bulbous clouds hugging the mountains.
These changing landscapes frame the everyday lives of the Japanese with a stunning backdrop, bringing dignity and grace to the labour and leisure of all classes of people.
A cynic could argue that, following the tragedy of a tsunami which has ravaged huge parts of Japan in March, it may not be a fitting moment to exhibit an artist who’s most famous image is a giant engulfing wave.
But there is a reassuring sense of consistency in Hokusai’s work, where Mount Fuji itself becomes an image of serenity and strength among so much which is transient and fragile in Japan. ■
Pilgrimage to Mount Fuji
Engravings by Katsushika Hokusai
Romanian National Museum of Arts, 49-53 Calea Victoriei
Until 31 July
