Tama River in Musashi Province - Katsushika Hokusai

A classic woodblock print from Hokusai's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, featuring the Tama River and the iconic silhouette of Mount Fuji.

This woodblock print is part of the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, a collection that established the landscape genre within the Ukiyo-e tradition. Katsushika Hokusai depicts the Tama River in the Musashi Province, framing the iconic silhouette of Mount Fuji against a graduated sky. The composition relies on a clear separation of planes: the foreground bank, the flowing river, and the distant mountain peak.

The artist employs a restricted palette, dominated by Prussian blue, which was a relatively new pigment in Japan at the time. This choice allows for subtle tonal variations in the water and the sky. A small boat carrying a passenger navigates the river, while a figure with a pack animal traverses the shore. These human elements provide a sense of scale, contrasting the quiet activity of daily life with the permanence of the mountain.

Hokusai uses simplified forms and clean lines to define the terrain. The water is rendered with rhythmic, repetitive patterns that suggest movement without cluttering the visual field. The print demonstrates the technical precision of the Edo-period woodblock process, where multiple carved blocks were used to layer colour and detail. The cartouche in the upper left corner contains the series title and the specific location, adhering to the standard format for this series. This work reflects the artist's interest in the relationship between natural features and human presence, a recurring theme throughout his later career. The print remains a clear example of the aesthetic balance achieved in Japanese printmaking during the nineteenth century, focusing on clarity of form and atmospheric depth.