Fuji in the City (ShichÅ« no Fuji): Detatched page from One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku hyakkei) Vol. 3 c. 1835 - 1847

Editor: This is Hokusai's woodblock print, "Fuji in the City," from his "One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji" series. The ladders and rooftops create a striking foreground. What stories do you think Hokusai is trying to tell here? Curator: Hokusai's work often juxtaposes the iconic, unchanging Mount Fuji with the dynamism of everyday life. Consider the ladders: symbols of labor and societal progress. Hokusai is inviting us to contemplate the relationship between nature, labor, and the rapidly changing urban landscape. Editor: So, it’s a commentary on progress and tradition? Curator: Precisely. Hokusai challenges us to consider who benefits from this progress, and at what cost, offering a critique of modernization and its impact on Japanese society. Editor: That's fascinating! I never would have considered it that way. Curator: Art can open our minds to new views on the world.