Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. Volume 11 from the Manga. Front cover with original pink title slip: (Denshin kaishu) Hokusai manga juichihen, (“Transmitted from the Gods.”) “Hokusai’s Sketches, Vol. 11.” Original grey covers with burnished wave and diamond pattern. Inside front cover catalogue of newly published books; 2 pages preface and 29 numbered […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849); Kyokutei BAKIN (1767-1848); Jippensha IKKU (1765-1831)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting by Hokusai showing the back view of a courtesan. Above are inscriptions by Bakin and Ikku, the two leading writers of the day. ( Bakin is famous for writing Chronicles of the Eight Dog Heroes of the Satomi Clan of Nanso and Ikku for writing […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A small original painting of an old sage (possibly the poet Saigyo Hoshi [1118-1190]) seated, holding a bamboo pole and with a large hat on his back. He looks up wistfully at a mountain range with what appears to be a hanging bridge over a gorge. Light colour […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting by Hokusai showing wild boars, a parent and baby. Another “Wild Boar in the Moonlight” painting is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, acc. No. 11.7430, ex William Sturgis Bigelow collection. The same broad background brushstroke shading is found on both paintings. Illustrated in […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, sumi and light colour on paper, 10 x 17.5 in; 25.5 x 44.5 cm. Shows a right-eye karei fish (a flounder or flatfish) with unfurled fern fronds. Hokusai has very cleverly positioned the fronds so they represent surf. This is a popular fish in Japan […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting showing the back view of a courtesan and her assistant. The poem is by Shokusanjin: It is all because of you who is blooming, flowers and the moon in this quarter seem prosperous Shokusanjin This appears to have been painted during his Sori period at […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting showing Hotei, the God of happiness and one of the Seven Gods of Good Luck (Shichi-fuku-jin). The corpulent Hotei reclines contentedly smoking a long pipe. Beside him is his huge bag (hotei literally means “cloth bag”) which contained the treasures and food he dispersed. Sumi […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, light colour on paper, 13 x 16.5 in; 33 x 42 cms. Shows a sparrow flying over a flowering plum tree. Light soil and creasing, but in generally good condition. Signed Hokusai suichu hitsu, “Hokusai painted while drunk.” Sealed Katsushika. (One of his better-known seals. […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, full colour on paper, 48.75 x 13.75 in; 124 x 35 cms. Shows Kintaro (aka Sakata no Kintoki) riding a large Chinese shishi lion. Kintaro was a child of prodigious strength who had a vermillion-coloured body. He is often depicted with the mountain creatures from […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. Cuckoo and azaleas from the so-called Small Flower series of ten chuban prints published c 1832. Amongst the most sought after of Hokusai’s prints. The first edition was published by and has the seal Eijudo. A later edition (as here) has combined manji and kiwame seal ( and […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. Early in his career Hokusai designed a number of occidental prints in various formats. The design offered here is from an aiban set of 5 prints published c 1800: 1) Haneda Benten no zu, “Benten Shrine at Haneda.” 2) Kanagawa oki Hommoku no zu, “View of Hommaku off […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A group of three women picking mushrooms. Published c 1800. Another impression, from the Musee Guimet, is illustrated in Muneshige Narazaki, Ukiyo-e Masterpieces in European Collections, 6, Musee Guimet, Paris, 1, p. 176, no. 90. Fine impression. Very good colour and condition. Unsigned. Status: Sold
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. Hokusai’s interpretation of a poem by Onakatomi no Yoshinobu Ason (921-991). From an unfinished set: Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki, “Pictures of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by the Nurse.” The poems are from an anthology Hyakunin isshu, “One Hundred People, One Poem Each” compiled […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A design interpreting a poem by the Lady of Ise (c. 875-c. 938) from an unfinished set Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki, “The Hundred Poems [By the Hundred Poets] as Told by the Nurse.” Published 1835-36 by Eijudo with 27 prints known and 67 outstanding drawings for the […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. Hokusai’s interpretation of a poem by Ono no Takamura (802-852). From an unfinished set: Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki, “Pictures of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by the Nurse.” The poems are from an anthology Hyakunin isshu, “One Hundred People, One Poem Each” compiled by […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A street scene with travellers, an ox cart and a teahouse at the Okido gate, Takanawa, in Edo bay to the south-east of Edo. This stretch of coast leading to Shinagawa was lined with stalls and restaurants and very popular. The gate – the stone remains of which […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. New Year’s Day with a view of Mount Fuji seen down Suruga Street with the Echigoya Mitsui store on the left and right. Edo Surugacho Mitsui mise ryakuzu, “The Mitsui Shop at Surugacho, Edo.” From Hokusai’s most famous set: Fugaku sanjurokkei, “Thirty-six Views of Fuji.” Surugacho district was […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A poem by Fujiwara no Yoshitaka (954-974) from Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki, the “Hundred Poems Explained by the Wet Nurse.” Published by Eijudo and Iseri, c 1835-6. Although obviously intended to be a set of 100 prints, only 27 are known plus drawings for others. The poet […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. Yoshiwara Station from a chuban Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido. The set of 55 prints published by Iseya Rihei, c 1806. Unsigned but the original wrapper evidently had Hokusai’s signature. Two women, a man and boy press grapes. Fine impression. Extremely fine colour. One small repaired wormhole near […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A surimono, Watakuri uma, from a series Uma tsukushi, “Horse Series.” The set of at least thirty surimono was issued by the Yomo-gawa Poetry Club for the Horse Year, 1822. The title alludes to the appearance of the watakuri, “cotton gin” usually seen atop a wooden sawhorse-like stand. […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A koban surimono from a kyoka set ( of one hundred ? ) published c. 1805. Shows a kyoka poet with poem by Mikumi Himemari. Seemingly the only large group illustrated is in the Katsushika Hokusai Exhibition from The Peter Morse Collection, Ukiyo-e Ota Memorial Museum of Art, […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. Koishikawa yuki no ashita, “Snowy Morning at Koishikawa” from Hokusai’s most celebrated set: Fugaku sanjurokkei, the “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.” The set of 46 prints published by Eijudo, c. 1830-32. Shows a party at a teahouse, at left, admiring the view of Fuji. The only snow scene […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A summer night on the Sumida river, Edo, illustrating a poem by the 9th – 10th century poet Kiyowara no Fukayabu. From the set: Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki. “The Hundred Poems by a Hundred Poets Explained by a Nurse. Twenty seven published designs are known for this […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. Onden no suisha, “Waterwheel at Onden” from the set Fugaku sanju-rokkei, the “Thirty-Six Views of Fuji.” The series published by Eijudo between 1829-33 and extended to forty six prints. These extra designs have a black outline, whereas the first thirty six have blue outlines in the early editions […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. Kozuke Sano funabashi no kozu, “Old View of the Pontoon Bridge at Sano, Kozuke Province.” From a set of eleven prints, Shokoku meikyo kiran, “Wondrous Views of Famous Bridges in All the Provinces.” A snow scene showing travellers, one on horseback, traversing the pontoon bridge built of boats. […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A surimono, Umazakushi, showing a saddle and cotton-gin from Watakuri uma, “A Series of Horses.” Issued for the Yomogawa club, 1822. Shows a horse’s saddle, a cotton-gin, basket of cotton floss and a branch of plum. A smoking set in the foreground. This set followed on from the […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A surimono, Hara, from an untitled Tokaido set, generally called the Surimono Tokaido. Published in 1804 for a kyoka club. There are 59 prints in the set; 8 being in this horizontal tanzaku format, the rest being koban size. This is the very rare first edition with the […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. Totomi sanchu, “In the Totomi Mountains” from Hokusai’s most famous set Fugaku sanju-rokkei, “Thirty-six Views of Fuji.” The set published by Nishimuraya Yohachi c. 1830-33. Originally planned as a set of 36 prints, ten more designs were added. These are called the Ura-Fuji, “Fuji from the Other Side.” […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A poem by Abe no Nakamaro from the unfinished set Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki, “Hundred Poems Explained by the Wet Nurse.” Twenty seven prints known with extant drawings for another sixty two. Published in 1835 by Nishimuraya Yohachi (who issued five) who then sold the blocks to […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. Click here to view image full size. Click here to view image full size. Click here to view image full size. An original 1815 two-sided woodblock carved from cherry wood (yamazakuro), 16 x 8.75 in; 40.5 x 22.25 cm, for the book: Ehon joruri zekku, “Picture Book […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. One volume complete: Hokusai soga, “Hokusai’s Free Sketches.” Two versions of this publication are known: Solely printed in sumi and ( as here ) sumi with gradated shading and a pink block. This version also with the colophon. Both are almost certainly contemporaneous. Contain’s some of Hokusai’s best […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. Two volumes complete: Toto shokei ichiran, “Fine Views of the Eastern [Edo] Capital at a Glance.” Shows famous places in Edo with accompanying kyoka poems at the top. Volume 1: 10 sheets, 1 p. preface. Volume 2: 11 sheets with colophon giving date Kwansei 12 (1800). Publishers Tsutaya […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760–1849)
Click here to view image full size. One volume complete Ehon Suikoden, “A Picture Book of the Suikoden”, published by Kadomaruya Jinsuke, Bunsei 12, 1829 showing 108 Chinese brigands. Some fine designs. Signed Katsushika Zen Hokusai I-itsu fude. Fine impressions. Original covers lacking title slip. Some slight foxing and minor marks. Status: Sold Click here […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A poem by Fujiwara no Yoshitaka (954-974) from Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki, the “Hundred Poems Explained by the Wet Nurse.” Published by Eijudo and Iseri, c 1835-6. Although obviously intended to be a set of 100 prints, only 27 are known plus drawings for others. The poet […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A matron with lover. A shunga sheet from the extremely rare de-luxe edition of the Fukujuso, “The Adonis Plant.” The blocks were re-carved, the text deleted, a mica ground added, and sumptuous hand-colouring applied and was renamed Nami chidori, “Plovers Above the Waves.” This was a costly exercise […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. One sheet from a shunga set of 12 prints Ehon tsuhi no hinagata, “Patterns of Loving Couples.” Published 1814. The series title is a play on words. Tsuhi can be read as “couple” or “male and female pairs” or it can be pronounced tsubi, an old term for […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. One sheet from a shunga set of 12 prints Ehon tsuhi no hinagata, “Patterns of Loving Couples.” Published 1814. The series title is a play on words. Tsuhi can be read as “couple” or “male and female pairs” or it can be pronounced tsubi, an old term for […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI ( 1760-1849 )
Click here to view image full size. Shrike and wild strawberry from the so-called Small Flower series of ten chuban prints published c 1832. Amongst the most sought- after of Hokusai’s prints. The first edition ( as here ) was published by and has the seal Eijudo. A later edition has combined manji and kiwame […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI ( 1760-1849 )
Click here to view image full size. A surimono showing two young girls making new year envelopes. On the side screen is a view of Fuji. Three poems above. Published c 1806. Fine impression and colour. Small strengthened area au verso, otherwise very good condition. Signed Hokusai ga. Status: Sold
Katsushika HOKUSAI ( 1760-1849 )
Click here to view image full size. Hotei with a karako puppet doll. Hotei, the God of abundance and good health, was one of the Seven Gods of Good Luck. The concept originated in India ( except Ebisu ) and came to Japan via China. He is usually shown as a shaven-headed priest in loose […]