Hokusai Katsushika who is a famous ukiyo-e artist left colored woodblock print works, art manuals and original drawings in his 90 years life including the most important work, Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji. When he was 83 years old, he firstly visited Obuse in Nagano Prefecture. It is said that there are several reasons he visited Obuse. He was born in Tokyo (Edo), but due to Tempo Reforms, making pictures were prohibited. A wealthy farmer and merchant in Obuse, Kozan Takai invited him to Obuse.
Hokusai Museum in Obuse, Nagano Prefecture
One of the most famous his work is “Kanagawa oki nami ura” (View through Waves off the Coast of Kanagawa).
Kanagawa oki nami ura
This is multiple colored woodblock printed work. Originally, woodblock printed works started in the Genroku period. Before that, single woodblock printed works were for illustrations of books like works below,
Left : Mt.Fuji under the bridge, Right : Mt. Fuji through the net
Left : Mt.Fuji in the cave, Right : Mt. Fuji from Omori Shore
Kodan : Storytelling
In the museum, you can learn how to make a multiple colored woodblock printed work such as Kanagawa oki nami ura,
1 : Blue single print for outline
2 : Yellow print for fishing boats
3 : Pale pink print for sky
4 : Gray shading print above the horizon
5 : Deep gray shading print added
6 : Deeper gray shading around Mt. Fuji
7 : Deeper gray shading around Mt. Fuji
8 : Blue print on the waves
9 : Adding deeper blue print on the waves
10 : Adding shadow print to the fishing boats with gray
11 : Adding various blue print to the waves for energetic feeling
To be continued to the next blog.
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