hokusai the metropolitan museum of art bulletin v 43 no 1 summer 1985

7/30/2019 Hokusai the Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin v 43 No 1 Summer 1985

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T h e Metropolitan Museum o f A r t'K:~j~!, ~ , , ~ ~ B u l l e t i nSummer198I/~-


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HOKUABY

A. HYATT MAYOR

WITH AN ESSAY BY YASUKO BETCHAKUASSISTANT CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF FAR EASTERN ART

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART


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COVER:Fuji romKajikazawan the provinceof Kai. FromTheThirty-sixViews of Fuji,about1831-33.INSIDECOVERS: encers.From he Manga,Vol. VI, 1817.TITLEPAGE,PAGES , 5, 7:Gallopinghorseandtwo archers.From he Manga,Vol. VI, 1817.Manswallowinga sword.Fromthe Manga,Vol. X, 1819.ABOVE,RIGHT: Some prize-winning"talents" f gluttony.Atough-jawed ater bitesgreedily nto a persimmon uspendedby astring.One glutton racesthroughbowls of noodles;anothertosseswhole rice cakes into his mouth. From he Manga,Vol. X.BELOW,RIGHT:Variousmagical alents. A magicianturns nto afrog;another makes risesbloom from the burningcharcoal n abrazier; thirdmultiplieshimself;a fourth turnssheets of paperinto birds. From he Manga,Vol. X.

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART BULLETINSummer 1985VolumeXLIII,Number1 (ISSN 0026-1521)Publishedquarterly? 1985by The MetropolitanMuseumof Art,FifthAvenue and82ndStreet,New York,N.Y. 10028.Second-classpostagepaid at New York,N.Y. and Additional MailingOffices.TheMetropolitanMuseumof ArtBulletin s providedas a benefit toMuseum members and available by subscription. Subscriptions$18.00 a year.Single copies$4.75. Fourweeks'notice requiredorchange of address.POSTMASTER:Send addresschanges to Mem-bership Department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, FifthAvenue and 82nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10028. Back issuesavailable on microfilm,fromUniversity Microfilms,313 N. FirstStreet, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Volumes I-XXVIII (1905-1942)availableas a clothboundreprint et or as individualyearlyvolumesfromThe Ayer Company,Publishers, nc., 99 MainStreet,Salem,N.H. 03079, or from the Museum,Box 700, MiddleVillage,N.Y11379.GeneralManagerof Publications: ohnP.O'Neill. Editor nChief of the Bulletin:Joan Holt. Editor:JoannaEkman.Photog-raphy by Gene C. Herbert, MetropolitanMuseum PhotographStudio. Design: Abby Goldstein.

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DIRECTOR S NOTE

From he publicationof itsfirstvolumeinJapan n 1814,Hokusai'sMangawasan enormoussuccess. Itsdelightfulmelangeof smallenergeticfigures et thestyle for fourteenmore volumes, the last of which was publishedin 1878,twenty-nine yearsafterthe artist'sdeath. It was an immenseproject,and one

,,/? 4; that had an impactsurprisinglyarbeyondthe shores of Japan.The lightlytinted woodcutsof the Mangawere among the firstJapaneseprints seenin the West afterJapanended her two hundredyearsof isolation in 1854.)'EIIi^^^^IE\vB ^ Traditionally,heirdiscovery as been set in Paris,about1856,when theetcher Felix Bracquemond potteda volumein the shop of his printer,whohad foundit in the packingmaterialsn a shipmentof porcelain.Bracquemondharedhis discoverywithhis artistcolleagues, includingEdouardManet, who adoptedseveralmotifs from the Manga n his own

prints. Other artists-Degas, Cassatt, Bonnard, Vuillard,Lautrec, Pissarro,van Gogh, Gauguinrespondedenthusiastically o the new andfascinating magesby Hokusai,as they did to otherJapaneseprints by Harunobu,Utamaro, and Hiroshige. The woodcuts' flatterspaces and shapes, decorativepatterns,andnovel viewpointsreaffirmedhe new waysof seeingthat the Frenchartistswereexploring.WrotePissarron 1893,"TheseJapanese onfirmmybelief in our vision."While such immediatelyappealing magesas Hokusai'scan be thoroughlyenjoyedapartfrom theirownculture,ourappreciationdeepenswhen they are seen within the richnessanddiversityof the art ofJapan romprehistory o recent times. In the Museum's ew galleries orJapaneseart, scheduled to openin the springof 1987, Hokusai'spictureswill join some two hundred other masterpiecesin settingsdesignedto evoketheiroriginalcontext, which is essential for the full understanding f manyJapaneseworks.Upon completion of this second phase in the installation of our Far Easterncollections, tenarchitecturallyvaried spaces will provide appropriateand intimate surroundings or the traditionaldisplayof sculpture,screens andscrolls, ceramics,textiles, armsandarmor,andprints.The introduction o this Bulletin, he selection of prints,and the captionsareby A. Hyatt Mayorandwereoriginallypublishedbythe Museum n anotherformat n 1967.Hyatt Mayor,who died in 1980,wasCuratorof Printsfrom 1946until he retiredfromadministrativeduties in 1966to do much of his bestwriting, includinghis monumentalPrints& People 1971).The notes on Hokusai'sprintswerecontrib-uted by YasukoBetchaku, AssistantCuratorof FarEasternArt, who has also playedan indispensablerole-both here andin Japan-in the preparationsor the newgalleries.

PHILIPPEDE MONTEBELLO

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Additional magicaltalents. One magicianproducesa processionof smallfigures romhis sleeve;a secondvanishes;a thirdeats rice andexhales a swarmof bees;a fourthemerges roma vase;a fifth breathesout a saddledhorse;a sixth projectsa giantface in incense smoke;a seventh swallowsa sword;an eighth poursa gushingstreamof water romhis cuppedhands. Fromthe Manga,Vol. X.

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THE OLD MAN MAD ABOUT PAINTING

Fewartistswould earooking tevery ay orayear;heirworkdoesnot haveICV^S^/f/Khevariety ndpersonality.t isnotenoughmerely o begreat, or hegreatpaintermay mpound sunendurablynthesingleness f hisobsession.Tobecontinuouslynteresting hrougha year'sworthof pictures,an artistmust, ' haveeyesthatgluttonize n everydirectionand an absolute ommand fhand.Sucha one wasHokusai.Hokusaiwasborn n1760 n what s nowTokyo.All hislifehewasaspooras hisfather,whopolishedmirrorsora subsistence.Whenhe wasa smallboydrawing ictures, heJapanese egan o printwoodcutsn several olors.Inhisearly eens,Hokusaiwascuttingwoodblocks orpublishers, ndateighteenhe started o draw orothercutters n the studioof Shunsho. He adoptedpartof his master's ame, callinghimselfShunro, to

show how completelyhe succumbed o Shunsho'sratherwearystyle in printsof sulky,silkencourtesansandthe actorswho impersonatedhem. IfHokusaihaddied beforehe wasforty,while still lingeringinthis listlesselegance, he wouldhave been forgotten.He developed ate in his eighty-nine yearsof life bydint of makingover10,000 woodcutsandsome 30,000 to 40,000 drawings.Thus he wasnot altogetherassumingumilitywhenhesaid,at theageofseventy-five:Ihavedrawnhings inceIwas ix. All thatImadebefore heageofsixty-fivesnotworth ounting.At seventy-threebegan o understandhetrueconstruction f animals,plants, rees,birds, ishesandinsects.[Heomitsmen.]At ninetyI willenterinto thesecretofthings.At ahundred shallcertainly avereached magnificentevel;andwhenIamahundred ndten, everything-everydot,everydash-will live."Hokusaidiedin 1849, fouryearsbeforeCommodorePerryntroduced oreignersntoJapanese ife. Forover wocenturies fewDutchmerchantsadbeentolerated nathree-hundred-yardectangle f earthdumpedinto Nagasakiharborfor the confinement of outsiders.Hokusai, observing everything, onceshowsa "highnose"peering utof a windowbeyond boardwall,andbeingpeeredat from hestreet.Even hough he Dutchwere orbiddeno cross he narrow ridgeo themainland,heirclothes,theirguns, theirmagnifying lasses,and theirbooksdid. Hokusai, ivingjustwhenJapanesedeas werebeginningo rubagainstdeas romEurope, an no longerquitebelieve n thefairy aleestheticsof theLadyMurasakithousand ears efore.Even he oldways frepresentinghe world regoing, or noneofhisprintsaJapanese treetconverges o avanishingpoint, with figuresdiminishing n the distance,justlikeaplate nanywestern erspectiveook.Hisstudies f fatpeopleand hinpeople ouldwellbe Diirer'sanatomicalomparisonset to capering.Wheneverand wherever ld ideasbeginto be questioned, he unsettlinggenerates nergy.Thebreakupof ancientJapanese deassupplies he motor that convulsesHokusai'swrestlers, ishermen,andjugglers. hepaceofchangedrives im toexplore verydoingandhappeningfJapaneseaily ifeas hesaw t in hisstudio, he street.HeistheonlyJapaneserintmakerho threwhimselfnto theturmoil fthe slums atherhanthehigh-flownhamof thestage.Hokusai raveledast becausehe traveledight,carryingittle more han his brushes ndhis paper,changinghis abode ninety-threetimes, and as restlesslyadoptingover thirty different names. As heflew, he absorbedevery style that he saw, keeping consistently only the Japaneseconvention thatignores shadows. Shadows would have obstructed the racing of his line as it describesthings withdisembodied ubtlety.

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Japaneseand Chinese artistsare ableto flingout lineswrithing ikestrings n the windbecause heydonot move their brusheswith the littlemuscleof theirfingers,aswemightdo, but with the largemusclesoftheir armand shoulder.Nothing touches the paperbut the brushtip that goes and goes, drivenby thedread f apause hatmightdropa blot.Suchawayofdrawing uts ts effort n outlineandsummarizesinner detail. The Japaneseand Chinese see no interiorlogic of bone and muscle in their shadowlessfigures,andthey escapeourGreek abstract dealof the body-never realized n nature to concentratetheirconvention n thepaintedaceof thegeishaand he actor.

InJapanese rintshe clean inesbound hetransparentolorswithout rossing ndobscuringhem-skytints that stain throughthe toughdiaphanous issue of the mulberrypaper.These aircolorscapturethe out-of-doors or a people who live more at the mercyof naturethan we do, the rainstinging theircheeks throughthe splits in their straw rain clothes, the chill in their paperhouses disjointing theirfingers.nHokusai'srints, hewind-squallscatter atsandbullypeople, hesnowblindswithawesomecold. We are far from the mild valleys of classic Chinese painting, where a philosopherpauses tocontemplatethe October mist on the cliffs, and time runsvisibly in the rivers.Hokusailived in theknockaboutstruggleof today.LikeDaumier,he seemed agraphicbuffoonto his contemporaries,but hasgrownwiththeyearso a stature f command.

A. HYATT MAYOR

Twowomen at leisure:one reads-a tobaccopipe is on the floorbehind herthe other lies proppedon her elbowsflexingherleg andwrigglingher toes. Brushdrawing n ink.

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NOTES ON HOKUSAI'S WOOD-BLOCK PRINTS

iE JsL,/y AlthoughHokusai idnot liveto be one hundred ears ld, theageat whichhe expectedo reach"amagnificentevel,"he bulkof workhe left behind sa testimony o his remarkablechievement s an artist.EvenexcludingHokusai'saintings, ne caneasily ee thescopeof hiswork romhisdrawingsJj^ilTO^!I 0 land rints,as demonstratednthefollowing ages.Hokusai'surviving arlywork s mainlybookillustration ndsurimono,printsprivatelyssued orspecialoccasionsandfrequently ccompanied y-4^^^^P poems.In EhonSumidagawayoganchiranThePictureBookof theViewsAlongBothBanks f theSumidaRiver), bout1801-2, Hokusaipresents n

panoramaa continuous view of the river,beginningat the mouth andending at the upperstream,andclosing with a scene of the Yoshiwara uarterof Edo (now Tokyo).The illustrationscontinue page bypage, in the samewaythata scrollpaintingis unrolledsectionbysection. Hokusainot only includes thepeople engaged n differentactivities on the near shore butalsoincorporateshe distant viewacross heriver p. 14).A similar epictionof the farshore, hough essprominent,s alsoseen in a single-sheetprint,ImadoRiverp.23, below).Hokusai'ssubjects rangedfrom animals, plants, landscapes, and human figuresto historical andsupernaturalhemes. He producedvoluminous ketchescoveringall thesesubjectson a tripto Nagoyain1812,when he stayedwith one of his pupils,GekkoteiBokusen. From hese drawings,craftsmenmadewood-block rints hatwerepublisheds HokusaiMangan 1814 vol. 1).Furtherolumes, reated romotherdrawings, ollowed n 1815-19 (vols. 2-10), 1834 (vol. 12), 1849(vol. 13), and1878(vol. 15). Thedatesof volumes 1and14arenotyetcertain.The fulltitle DenshinKaishu: okusaiManga,whichmaybe translateds"beginner's anual or ransmittinghe true mage: s Hokusai leases," ascommonlyknownas HokusaiManga rManga.The wordmangahendenoted"amanual fdrawing,"sopposedoitscontemporary eaning f "comics r satires."

Many pagesof the Mangaarerandomly illedwith smallfigures ngaged ndifferentactivities,avarietyof birdsandplants probablydrawn romnature,or landscapes n all kindsof weatherconditions. Othersare morethought-outdesignsthat could easilyhave becomepagesof an illustratedbook (pp. 19, aboveand below; 27, below; 29). The freelyrenderedbrushdrawingof a man ridinga donkey (p. 48) showsa strikingresemblance to the imagesin the Manga;this or a similardrawingcould have served as ahanshita-eunder-drawing)or heManga.Among Hokusai'sother instructionalbooks was HokusaiGashiki Methodof DrawingbyHokusai),aselection of designson a varietyof subjects,published n collaborationwith Hokusai'sOsakapupils-SenkakuteiHokuyo, SekkateiHokushufi,nd Shunyosai Hokky6-in 1819. In contrast to the Manga,whosepagesarecrowdedwith smalldesigns,HokusaiGashiki ason each doublepageasingledesignthatclearlydemonstratesstyleof the mastern a largerormatp. 12).EhonMusashiAbumi PictureBookoftheStirrups f theBraves),1836 (p. 28, below) andEhonWakannoHomarePicture ookof theGloryofJapanndChina), 850(pp.27, above;28, above)-two of threebooksgenerally nownasthe Warrior rilogy-display he linear tyleoftenassociatedwithHokusai'sworkof around he 1830s. The blocksfor EhonMusashiAbumiwereprobablymade about1836but werenot printeduntil after Hokusai'sdeath. Figuresare executed with fine strokes in combination with

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accentuatedcontour lines, whereaslandscapesareshadedwith angularstrokes and dots-a commonconventionnChinese andscape ainting swellasinNanga, heJapaneseiterati aintingnspired yChinesepainting f the samekind.Hokusai'spontaneousrushwork aybe seen notonly nhisprinted ooks,butalso nhisdrawings.Hecaptures layfulparrowsopping round n old hatwiththeutmost implicityndeconomy f line.The sparrows ndthe hat are drawnwith dabs of brownwash and broadbrushstrokes hat are contouredwithcontrastinghinlines(p. 13,above).Countless imagesproduced or the Mangamayhaveservedas a groundworkorHokusai'sbest-known

single-sheetprints, The Thirty-sixViewsof Fuji, about 1831-33, where landscapebecame the majortheme for the first time in the historyof Japaneseprints.Ten printswith blackoutlines, the so-called"rear-viewuji,"were ubsequentdditionso the initialset of thirty-six,withblueoutlines.In Rainstorm eneath he Summit pp. 46-47), Mt. Fujitowerspeacefullyabovethe turbulentweathersuggestedbythe white rain cloudsandthe thunderbolt.Here the majesticFujidominatesanentirescenein whichhumaniguresrecompletelyliminated,while notherprintsn the set(pp.40-41;44, below;45) the human element is unobtrusivelypresent. In TheGreat Waveoff Kanagawa,orexample, hugeanthropomorphicwavesappear o engulfthe tiny peopleholdingonto their wooden boats.The viewer'seye is directed by the boats towardthe left, swiftly taken upwardby the splashingwaves, and thenreturned o the centerwhereFujistandsundisturbedbeyondthe roughwaves.Otherprintsin the series(pp.33, above;34-35; 36-37; 38;39;42-43; 44, above)depict andscapesnd activitiesof ordinarypeople set againstthe familiarpresence of Mt. Fuji. Throughoutthe series, the viewer'sattention isalwaysdirected o the gracefulview of thisadmiredmountain,no matterhow smallFujimaybeportrayed.In othergenres,Hokusaiproved hatbirdsandflowers ould be justasexcitingsubjects orsingle-sheetprintsas actorsand beauties, hemesfavoredby the masses.His imagesof plantsare baseduponobservationromnature,buthe goesfarbeyondmorphologicalccuracy, apturing is subjects' eryessence.In theprintof irises pp.10-11),a senseof vibrant ifeis suggested ythe flowersn differentstagesof bloom,as well as by the tornleaf thatmayhave been eatenby the grasshopperiscreetlyholdingonto it.Inhis lateryears,Hokusai requently oughtideasfrom the classics.Inone of the prints romthe seriesFamousBridges n VariousProvinces,about 1833-34, Hokusaiadoptsthe theme of yatsuhashieight-plankbridge).The yatsuhashin Mikawa rovince,nowAichiprefecture, asaplacecelebratedorthelovely irises surrounding he bridgeand was one of the subjectsfavoredby artistsever since it wasmentioned in the tenth-centuryTalesof Ise,a collection of romanticepisodes n the life of a courtier.InHokusai's rint(pp. 30-31), the familiar igzagpatternof the yatsuhashis slightlyaltered o formatriangle n the center thatechoes the shapeof the mountain.Iris lowers,usuallyshownfillingthe space,are reduced to scattereddots under the prominent bridge. Hokusai has replacedthe Heian period(794-1185) idealof yatsuhashi, suallyassociatedwith elegantcourtnoblesandlarge risflowers,with agenre ceneof the Edoperiod 1615-1867) howing rdinary eoplecrossinghebridgeo pursueheirdailyactivities.Another eries,TheHundredoems old y heNurse,about1835-36,derivesromananthology fonehundred oemsbyonehundred oetscompiledn 1235bythe famous oetFujiwarao Teika.For omereasonthe serieswasnevercompleted;twenty-eightdesignsare knownto exist asprints-twenty-sevencolorandone blackandwhite-and forty-one esigns shanshita-ere ntheFreerGallery.Thetitleofthe seriesalongwith the poet'snameandpoem arepresented n arectangleanda squarecartouche,theshapes f thesheetsofpaperraditionallysed orwritingpoems.Whetherworkersepairingoof iles,hunterswarming pbyafire,ormenrowing oats pp.22,below; 4-25;33, below), heimages epictedarenotthoseoftheHeianperiod,butthoseof Hokusai'swn.A Wintercene,where treaksfsmokeareset againsta flatmassof blackandgray, xemplifiesHokusai's bstract enseof color, shape,anddesign,aswellashis inexhaustibleriginality-someof thequalitieshathavegivenhis art ts universalppeal.

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ABOVE: Landscapes:rees in the rain;islands n thesea. From heManga, i

RIGHT:Assorted leaves.From he ,Manga,Vol. III, 1815. ..'

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Irises.Froman untitledgroupknown asthe "large-sheet lower eries," ate 1820s.

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OPPOSITE, ABOVE: Birds n flightoverreeds;cormorants, inches, andgeese.FromHokusaiGashiki,1819.

OPPOSITE,BELOW: irdson a tree at thewater's dge:thrushes,cranes,finches,andgeese. FromHokusaiGashiki.

ABOVE:Old hat andhouse sparrows.Brushdrawing n ink andcolor.

RIGHT:Variousbirds. From he Manga,Vol. III.

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ABOVE: Rainbowat Mitakegura.Ashower allsat the new YanagiBridgeovera canal joining the Sumida River.Way-farers,rushingacross he bridge,hastilyraise umbrellasand cover themselveswith coats andrugs.In the backgroundsa panoramicview of the far bank of theSumida. FromEhonSumidagawa yoganIchiran,about 1801-2.

OPPOSITE, ABOVE: Mount Haruna n therain. One of a series of viewsof famousplacesdrawn n variousweathers.Fromthe Manga,Vol. VII.

OPPOSITE, BELOW:Bogrhubarb f Akitain the rain. Hokusaihas enlargedtherhubarb f Akita to preposterous izewith leaveslargeenough to serveasumbrellas.This maybe his comment onthe boastful tales of the residents.Fromthe Manga,Vol. VII.

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A gustof wind at Ejiri, in the provinceofSuruga.PaleFuji s seen from the plain.Travelers n the raisedpath throughtherice fieldsstruggleagainstthe wind.Sheets of paperaresweptinto the air,and one man has lost his hat. FromTheThirty-sixViewsof Fuji,about1831-33.V

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ABOVE: The maddeningwind. ToHokusai,gestures pokelouderthanwords.These studiescaricature he reac-tion of the harassedpedestrians o theunpredictablegustsof the wind. Fromthe Manga,Vol. XII, 1834.OPPOSITE, ABOVE: A womanof remark-ablestrength.A rearingwild horse isheld fastby the delicatehigh woodenclog of the woman's andalon the halterrope. The woman, oblivious of theplunginganimal, admiresa birdflyingabovethe irises n the lake. From heManga,Vol. IX, 1819.

OPPOSITE, BELOW:Another womanofremarkable trength. A mighty and mus-cularwarriorpusheswith all his strength,but the woman continues to walkat herrelaxed and unhurriedpace. At the edgeof the pathan emptysakebottle has beenstuckupsidedown on a bamboopole.From he Manga,Vol. IX.

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OPPOSITE,ABOVE:Caricatures of thedescendantsof a noble family.One figureat the top paints eyebrows n his fore-head;the otherpaintshis lipsand teethwith the aid of a magnifyingmirror.Atthe bottom a posturingdandytreadsonanother's obe, and in the centera figureslumps ike a pile of discarded lothes.From he Manga,Vol. XII.

OPPOSITE, BELOW:Talentsof the long-nosed. Long-nosed engu monsters,half-human, half-bird)display heir skillswhile an equally ong-nosedwomancom-peteswith them by writingelegantcur-sivescripton a foldingscreenwith an inkbrush ied to the end ofher nose. Fromthe Manga,Vol. XII.

BELOW:ariousunseemlysights.At thetop a man is about to commit hara-kiriwith a frogbesidehim. Below,a woman'sface is unflatteringlymagnified.Topright, a famouswrestler,Goroof Matanovillage, makes an ostentatiousdisplayofstrengthby lifting a boulder.Below,apartiallycladwomantakes a pickledradish rom a barrel.From he Manga,Vol. XII.

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LEFT:Thin men and thin women. Incontrastto relaxed fatpeople (opposite),thin people are tense and active. Theywrestle,carry oads, work,fight, breakcrockery,andprovoke rouble. From heManga,Vol. VIII, 1818.

BELOW:Two womenin a house are look-ing at the peachblossomsbelow theirporch. A workman s throwing iles toanother on the roof above,while a thirdis layingthem in position. In the dis-tance is a well-traveled oad. FromTheHundredPoemsToldby the Nurse,about 1835-36.

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LEFT: andomsketchesof fat men and--~^'?..--:. ./^r... fat women in various poses. The fat peo-

A -HSr ^BSS^ ^ ple, for the mostpart, relaxandsleep,read, smoke, or amuse themselvesin a\i ?^" .vj'^gl---L^^^^ -- icomfortable manner. Hokusai finds theircharacter o be vastlydifferent rom that

of the thin people (opposite). From heManga,Vol. XIII, 1818.

BELOW:Pottersmakingroofing iles onyVt ^9^^'. iSB^Ts-\ ^^^^^^the bankof the ImadoRiver,a tributaryof the SumidaRiver.Early1800s.

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hokusai the metropolitan museum of art bulletin v 43 no 1 summer 1985

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