Fuji with a Cuckoo (Kakkō no Fuji): Detatched page from One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku hyakkei) Vol. 3 c. 1835 - 1847

Editor: This is "Fuji with a Cuckoo," a page from Hokusai's "One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji." The man seems so relaxed, gazing at the mountain. How does this image speak to the cultural significance of Mount Fuji? Curator: Hokusai's series was a commodity, designed for mass consumption as Japan opened to the West. Fuji, already a national symbol, became a marker of Japanese identity in a rapidly changing world. How does Hokusai use the figure to enhance this message? Editor: Perhaps the figure's leisure emphasizes a connection to nature, a romantic ideal threatened by Westernization? I see the mountain reflected in the kimono pattern. Curator: Exactly! Hokusai cleverly uses popular imagery to reinforce a specific vision of Japan, one both traditional and accessible to a global audience. Editor: It's fascinating to consider how even landscape prints can be part of a larger political narrative. Thanks!