In the Mountains of Tōtōmi Province 1830 - 1833

"In the Mountains of Tōtōmi Province" was made by Katsushika Hokusai using woodblock printing techniques. Hokusai lived during the Edo period when Japan’s economy was growing and woodblock prints became very popular among common people, who traveled to see famous landscapes. This print is part of a series called "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji." This series reflects not only the reverence for Mt. Fuji, but also the lives of ordinary people. Here, Hokusai pictures laborers sawing planks of wood. The print emphasizes their physical exertion as they move and work to sustain their community, and it also gives us a sense of the period's class structure, where the working class was vital to society. The almost abstract composition, with its large wooden planks against the backdrop of the iconic Mount Fuji, invites you to reflect on the relationship between human labor and the natural world. The way Hokusai depicts this scene suggests a deep respect for both the mountain's grandeur and the human effort required to transform its resources.