Fujimigahara in Owari Province (Bishū Fujimigahara), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)

Fujimigahara in Owari Province (Bishū Fujimigahara), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)

Katsushika Hokusai

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Hokusai searched the environment for subjects that would produce an unusual effect when combined with the image of Mount Fuji. In this print, he takes us to Owari (present-day Aichi Prefecture), which is one of the western most locations from which Mount Fuji is visible. Having come all this way, Hokusai puts the mountain, now greatly diminished in size by distance, in the center of a great circular frame formed by the walls of a huge barrel being constructed by a cooper. Thus, the great symbol of eternity is amusingly reduced to a tiny triangle set within a large bottomless barrel.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fujimigahara in Owari Province (Bishū Fujimigahara), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)Fujimigahara in Owari Province (Bishū Fujimigahara), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)Fujimigahara in Owari Province (Bishū Fujimigahara), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)Fujimigahara in Owari Province (Bishū Fujimigahara), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)Fujimigahara in Owari Province (Bishū Fujimigahara), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)

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.