Japan: ‘Hodogaya on the Tokaido Road’—one of a series of woodblock prints by Katsushika Hokusai titled ‘36 Views of Mount Fuji’.

In Hokusai’s ‘Hodogaya on the Tokaido Road’, Mount Fuji is seen through a screen of pines trees. In the foreground a group of travellers make their way from Edo [Tokyo], to the imperial capital, Kyoto.

‘Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji’ is an ‘ukiyo-e’ series of large, color woodblock prints by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849). The series depicts Mount Fuji in differing seasons and weather conditions from a variety of places and distances. It actually consists of 46 prints created between 1826 and 1833. The first 36 were included in the original publication and, due to their popularity, 10 more were added after the original publication.

Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776.24 m (12,389 ft). An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about 100 km southwest of Tokyo. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol and icon of Japan and is frequently depicted in art and photographs. It is one of Japan's ‘Three Holy Mountains’ along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku.

Fuji is nowadays frequently visited by sightseers and climbers. It is thought that the first ascent was in 663 CE by an anonymous monk. The summit has been thought of as sacred since ancient times and was forbidden to women until the Meiji Era. Ancient samurai used the base of the mountain as a remote training area, near the present-day town of Gotemba.

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Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

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Pictures From History

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