Shichiri beach in Sagami province 

Curator: Hokusai’s “Shichiri beach in Sagami province” offers a beautiful vista. There’s something so evocative about it. Editor: It has this instantly calming effect. The scale feels vast yet intimate; those deep blues contrasted against the sky—almost meditative. I am particularly drawn to the use of Prussian blue within the water, its availability dating this work to around the 1830s. Curator: Exactly. Hokusai understood the emotive power of landscapes and how they connect to something profound within us. Think about how Mount Fuji is framed in the background, that symbolic peak representing stability and spiritual ascent, contrasted with the everyday life along the shore. Editor: The key blocks, registration, and layering of colours in woodblock printing are particularly interesting to me here. I wonder about the material origins of those blues and greens—the labour involved in their processing and dissemination in Edo-period Japan. The availability of new pigments through trade had such an impact on production, and that is what speaks to me most. Curator: The composition certainly points to these layers. Note how each element—sky, water, land—seems to exist on different planes, and each conveys distinct ideas. This relates to concepts of idealized beauty found in ukiyo-e art. It speaks to fleeting moments, transient realities… reflections on time itself. Editor: It’s also worth remembering that Hokusai wasn't just an artist; he was a craftsman navigating a specific system of workshops, publishers, and markets. These factors impacted what could be produced and how the final object circulated among consumers. Woodblock prints weren't always these precious objects—but affordable images. Curator: Very true. And it’s this collision of the everyday with the sublime that makes Hokusai so enduring. These glimpses into a landscape are not just pretty scenes; they invite reflection on permanence, change, and our relationship to the natural world. Editor: A lovely sentiment—seeing how process and labour are so linked with representation. Hopefully our listeners are keen to examine that relationship more!