Fuji, waves and snow

Katsushika Hokusai

Woodblock prints from the years Hokusai was past seventy and at his best. The great wave off Kanagawa with Fuji small beneath it, the lake at Hakone, the torii standing in Noboto Bay, snow on the Sumida River, a rooster and hen among the spiderwort, and a mystical bird with a human face. Prussian blue, firm outlines and a great deal of nerve.

As a puzzle

Among the kindest builds here. Flat colour, firm black outlines and bold shapes give every piece a clear identity, and the waves and the snow are drawn rather than blended, so even the pale areas carry lines to follow. The skies are the only slow stretch. A high count is a pleasure.

A good size here: 60–300 pieces.

Also filed under Ukiyo-e

Subjects here: Landscapes Mountains Rivers and Lakes The Sea Animals Birds Winter

6 pictures, pick one to build

Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), or The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) ca. 1830–32

Rooster, Hen and Chicken with Spiderwort ca. 1832

The Lake at Hakone in Sagami Province (Sōshū Hakone kosui), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) ca. 1830–32

Mystical Bird (Karyōbinga) 1820–33

Noboto Bay (Noboto no ura), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) ca. 1830–32

Snow on the Sumida River (Sumida), from the series, Snow, Moon, and Flowers (Setsugekka) ca. 1833