Katsushika Hokusai Hokusai Manga Archery

An original 19th-century woodblock print, Katsushika Hokusai, Hokusai Manga Archery.

Katsushika Hokusai is considered one of the greatest Japanese artists. He is best known for his development in a new field in ukiyo-e landscape prints, his ‘Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji’ being the most famous. His works are thought to have had a significant influence on Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet during the wave of Japonisme that spread across Europe in the late 19th century.

This print is from the Hokusai Manga (sketches) series which was published in fifteen volumes between 1814 and 1878. The first volume of the series was intended as a drawing instruction manual but Hokusai almost immediately removed the text and republished the drawings alone. The word manga in the title does not refer to the contemporary story-telling manga, as the sketches in the work are not connected to each other. Hokusai's sketches cover a wide range of subjects, including landscapes, flora and fauna, everyday life and the supernatural. The subjects are block-printed in three colours: black, gray and pale flesh.

On washi paper. One of a pair that we have for sale (see JZ-232).