Fuji from the Platform of Sasayedo 

Katsushika Hokusai made this woodblock print, Fuji from the Platform of Sasayedo, which is now held in the Brooklyn Museum. The artwork depicts a group of figures looking out at Mount Fuji from a viewing platform. Made during the Edo period in Japan, this print reflects several key aspects of Japanese culture at the time. Woodblock prints were becoming increasingly popular among the merchant class, who had the money to spend on them but were excluded from traditional forms of high culture. Hokusai catered to this audience by producing affordable landscapes that offered them an opportunity to connect with nature and famous landmarks. The prominence of Mount Fuji reflects its symbolic importance as a sacred site in Shintoism and Buddhism. The act of viewing nature from a platform like this also speaks to the growing tourism industry, driven by improvements in transport infrastructure and increased leisure time for the middle classes. Art historians research prints like this in the context of wider studies of the Edo period, including travel journals, government records, and commercial data, to understand the social conditions that shaped the art of the time.