Visiting Atago Shrine c. 1790

This woodblock print, Visiting Atago Shrine, was created by Katsushika Hokusai. Note the woman gazing upwards, her neck elongated in an almost ecstatic pose. This upward gaze is a motif that transcends cultures. Consider the medieval depictions of saints in religious art, their eyes raised towards divine light. The gesture speaks to a universal human aspiration: the desire to transcend the mundane, to connect with something beyond our grasp. Similarly, the act of eating, depicted in the figure to the right, is not merely sustenance but a ritual—a shared experience that binds us to the earth. This tension between the earthly and the divine has played out across centuries, reappearing in various forms. This symbol reminds us that we are forever bound to repeat the same themes, merely in different costumes. The raw, emotive power of these symbols continues to engage us, triggering subconscious memories and desires.