Fuji and Yatsugatake in ShinshÅ« (ShinshÅ« Yatsugatake no Fuji): Detatched page from One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku hyakkei) Vol. 2 Possibly 1835 - 1836

Editor: Here we have Hokusai's "Fuji and Yatsugatake in Shinshū," a page from his "One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji." The waves are so dominant, making the figures in the boat seem almost incidental, like a dance with nature itself. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It feels like a meditation, doesn't it? Hokusai's playing with perspective, dwarfing humanity against the might of nature. The boat becomes a tiny stage. Are they threatened, or are they part of this awesome force? Editor: I hadn't thought of it that way – a stage. That makes me wonder if they are willing participants in the performance. Curator: Perhaps it’s both, a challenge and a submission to the sublime power of the natural world. And it makes you want to jump in, right? Editor: Absolutely. Now I see the allure, the almost playful relationship between the people and the landscape. Thanks!