Cherry Blossoms at Yoshino (Yoshino), from the series Snow, Moon, and Flowers (Setsugekka)

Katsushika Hokusai

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The most famous place in Japan for viewing cherry blossoms is Mount Yoshino in the Kii peninsula, far from Kyoto and Nara. Instead of the standard device of bands of mist separating the foreground from the background, here clusters of cherry blossoms hover in the middle ground. The other two prints in the series are Snowscape by the Sumida River and Moonlight on the Yodo River. The signature, Saki no [or Zen no] Hokusai Iitsu hitsu, indicates that the print was made during Hokusai's Iitsu period (ca. 1820–33).

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