Japanese Prints

All of us here at Posterburner have a fond appreciation for the tales and art that sprung out of Edo period Japan.

One of the most popular mediums for artistic expression in Edo was the Ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating world", which were typically woodblock print scenes of social life --Geisha, theaters, Samurai, and tea houses -- until the japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai began illustrating landscapes and rural life using the same methods. His fame climaxed with the publication of "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji", and it's out of this series that we share some of our favorite Edo period prints.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1831

Inarguably his most popular scene from the series, and our favorite. Beautifully illustrating the humility of man in the face of nature.

Great Wave Print Large Image

South Wind, Clear Sky (aka "Red Fuji"), c. 1831

At the time, Mount Fuji was seen as a kind of deity and it was rumored that the elixir of immortality had been placed at the peak by a goddess. "Red Fuji" reflects this reverance of the one object that almost all skylines in Japan possess.

Red Mt Fuji Volcano Large Image

Shichiri Beach in Sagami Province, c. 1831

Unfortunately, Hokusai's work didn't reach much of the rest of the world till well after his death due to the isolationist rule by the Tokugawa shogunate.

Shichiri Beach Print Large Image

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