Honderd gezichten op de berg Fuji - deel één 1834

Editor: We’re looking at “Honderd gezichten op de berg Fuji - deel één”, from 1834, a woodblock print on paper by Katsushika Hokusai. It looks like a worn book cover. What is so significant about this artwork? Curator: Think about what Mount Fuji represented culturally and politically in 19th-century Japan. How did Hokusai, as an artist working within the ukiyo-e tradition, both reflect and challenge these perceptions? Consider how themes of nature, national identity, and artistic innovation intersect within his “One Hundred Views.” Editor: So, beyond being just another landscape, this book touches on national identity? Curator: Exactly. It explores the relationship between the individual and the landscape, but also Japan’s growing sense of self in a rapidly changing world. Hokusai was acutely aware of social hierarchies and class divisions and was influenced by urban culture; how does this play out in his representations of the iconic Mount Fuji, something seen by everyone from every class? Editor: Interesting, so in that sense it has a very democratic element? That even those with fewer freedoms are able to experience the same view? Curator: Precisely. The mass-produced woodblock prints meant that images and experiences were now democratized, creating a sense of shared cultural heritage but at a time of rigid social structures. Hokusai both documented and potentially critiqued this societal tension. This democratization extends to art history. It compels us to re-examine our relationship to monuments and artistic expressions around us. Editor: That's a perspective I had not considered before! Thanks! Curator: Likewise! It’s a journey to continue, always questioning, always seeing.