Picture Book in the Katsushika Style (Ehon Katsushika-buri)

Katsushika Hokusai

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

These drawings on thin sheets of paper were originally intended to be pasted onto woodblocks as templates and cut through. Advertisements at the end of the warrior books Warriors Illustrated: China and Japan (Ehon sakigake) and The Stirrups of Musashi (Ehon Musashi abumi) of 1836 suggest that the volume Katsushikaburi was meant to be part of the same series. However, for unknown reasons, the publication was canceled, and these drawings were arranged in an album format. This sheet shows the warrior Wada Heita Tamenaga stabbing a giant snake.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art