‘Ōno Shinden in Suruga Province’ – “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji”

Description

Material: Paper

Period: Late 20th century

Artist: Katsushika Hokusai

Condition: Good condition, see description

Size: 315 x  215 mm

Carver: Matsuda Torazo
Printer: Endo Tadao

The print depicts early morning in the marshy paddies of Öno, with mist rising from the wet grasses while waterfowl skim the surface of the water. Fuji solemnly rises through the mist to the sky; it touches the upper edge of the picture. This ethereal landscape dramatically contrasts with the human activity revealed in the foreground. A group of farmers leads five oxen laden with mountainous bundles of reeds, while two women carry smaller bundles of grass on their backs. They have finished their morning labors and are going home for breakfast. ‘New Fields’ was a name applied to fields recently brought under cultivation. During the Edo period, the shogun and local governments made an effort to expand arable lands in order to support an increasing population, and also to increase taxable lands.