De bananentuinen van Chuto 1829 - 1835

This is "The Banana Gardens of Chuto," a woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai, made sometime in the first half of the 19th century. Hokusai was one of the most important artists in the ukiyo-e tradition, which flourished during the Edo period in Japan. In this image, we see a coastal village nestled amongst banana groves, the small dwellings protected by stone walls. In the background, soft hills rise to meet the sky. The print testifies to the rising popularity of landscape imagery and the interest in regional cultures and local industries that characterized Japanese society at this time. Japan was undergoing significant economic expansion, and prints like this one served both to document and promote commerce and tourism. Works such as this, therefore, played a vital role in shaping cultural identity and national pride. Historians of art use a wide range of resources, including government records, trade statistics, and travel accounts to fully understand the social and institutional contexts that shaped artistic production in any period.