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Shozaburo Watanabe; publisher; 1945 / 1955
Overview
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku Sanjūrokkei) is a series of landscape prints by the great Japanese ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849). The series depicts Mount Fuji from different locations and in various seasons and weather conditions. Despite its name, it actually consists of 46 prints, with 10 of them being added after the initial publication.
The series was produced from c. 1830 to 1832, when Hokusai was in his seventies and at the height of his career, and published by Nishimura Yohachi. Among the prints are three of Hokusai's most famous: The Great Wave off Kanagawa (or The Great Wave); Fine Wind, Clear Morning; and Rainstorm Beneath the Summit. The series has been described by Gian Carlo Calza as the artist's "indisputable colour-print masterpiece". This print is no. 8 in the series, and depicts a view of Mount Fuji seen from Kōshū Inumetōge (Inume Pass in Kai Province), with foreground figures and pack horses.
This print is very likely an accurate copy published by the celebrated Watanabe Shōzaburō and dates from the mid-20th century. The other Hokusai print from this series currently in the Te Papa collection, Viewing sunset over the Ryogoku bridge from the Onmaga embankment (1992-0035-G2313 /1) has a seal from the same publisher.
Sources:
Wikipedia, 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-six_Views_of_Mount_Fuji
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art May 2019