Isaiah Owens

JAPN 314

Dustin Wright

October 14, 2018

An ukiyo-e Analysis

Ukiyo-e has long been part of Japan’s cultural history. Dating from the Tokugawa Period

otherwise known as the Edo Period (1615-1868), ukiyo-e rose in popularity and soon became a

staple of the times. The word ukiyo-e roughly means “pictures of the floating world”. The

“floating world” refers to culture of the time period which had a focus on enjoying the pleasures

of life, brothels, and the popularity of theater and art. There are many famous ukiyo-e prints

such as “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” depicted by Katsushika Hokusai, “Thirty-six Views on

Mount Fuji”, a collection of prints illustrated by Utagawa Hiroshige, and “Three Beauties of the

Present Day”, depicted by Utamaro Kitagawa. In this analysis, one specific example of ukiyo-e

will be presented and that is a print called Fine Wind, Clear Weather or in Japanese “Gaifû

kaisei”. This specific piece of Ukiyo-e comes from the “Thirty-six Views on Mount Fuji”

collection drawn by Katsushika Hokusai.

Katsushika Hokusai is considered one of the greatest Ukiyo-e artists. Ukiyo-e is a paper

made from the use of woodblock printing, a tedious process. Katsushika Hokusai lived from

1760 to 1849 and created many Ukiyo-e prints. Fine Wind, Clear Weather appeals to me because

of its use of the depth of color. Using different shades of blue, they mold together to form the

snowcapped image of Mount Fuji surrounded by fluttering clouds that looks soft in texture and

peaceful in nature. Immediately, there is a sense of grace imbued within the printing of such a

magnificent landscape. Katsushika Hokusai is well known for incorporating landscape into his
woodblock prints. In the book, Visual Methodologies written by Gillian Rose, she mentions a

type of analysis called the site of production, the site of the image, and the site of the audience

(Rose 25). The site of production refers to how it was made, the site of the image refers to the

actual image, and the site of the audience refers to the interpretation of the image and by whom.

Based on the site of production, the method used to print this was of woodblock printing.

Hokusai literally had to carve into a block of wood and then use multiple layers of ink and

coloring to reach a final version. The result was astounding. One can assumer the genre of this

painting would be views of Mount Fuji. The reason why being he wanted to demonstrate

different views on a popular landmark in Japan. Based on the site of the image, I can assumer

that Hokusai has spent a great amount of time looking upon Mount Fuji. He composed this on his

own and meant for it to an image of Mount Fuji at a time of perfect weather and how beautiful it

is to gaze upon at that time. As for the site of audiencing, this was clearly meant for people who

enjoyed viewing ukiyo-e at the time. The fact that it has relation to thirty-six other prints means

that there is multiple viewpoint that are offered for the audience to compare and contrast. To me,

this print of ukiyo-e is meant to be a depiction of Mount Fuji in all of its glory, standing proudly

while the atmosphere around it calms nerves. It is a very calming and peaceful image.

Ultimately, Katsushika Hokusai created an incredible art piece with Fine Wind, Clear

Weather. I could imagine myself standing at the top of the mountain and basking in the beautiful

sight before me. Also, it serves as a great example of why Hokusai is considered one of the

greatest ukiyo-e artists of all time.

Works Cited
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. “Katsushika Hokusai: Fine Wind, Clear Weather (Gaifû Kaisei),

Also Known as Red Fuji, from the Series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku

Sanjûrokkei) - Museum of Fine Arts.” Ukiyo-e Search, ukiyo-e.org/image/mfa/sc227263.

Rose, Gillian. Visual Methodologies an Introduction to the Interpretation of Visual Materials.

4th ed., Sage Publications, 2016.