Hokusai/ 36 Views of Mount Fuji/ Shunga/ Senju

For roughly 265 years, Japan practised Sakoku and stayed secluded from much of the world. In the early 1600s, mainly because of the destabilizing influence of the foreign religion of Christianity, the island nation’s Shogun (military ruler), expelled most foreigners and prohibited any new visitors. It also imposed a ban on Japanese nationals leaving the country. Even though these measures seem harsh, they undoubtedly served their purpose in preventing Japan from being colonized by greedy western powers. The isolation also gave rise to a distinct and unique culture in which art took centre stage. The commoners of the growing megalopolis Edo (now Tokyo), with its 1 000 000 people in the early 1700s, created a strong culture that still resonates today. Ukiyo (the floating world) was a concept expressed through woodblock prints, painting, theatre, literature, and fashion.

The most famous of the Ukiyo-e artists active during the Edo period (1603-1868) was, and still is, Katsushika Hokusai. His print titled “The Great wave off Kanagawa” is considered one of the world’s most recognizable artworks. This image of a great and towering tsunami-like wave is also part of perhaps Ukiyo-e’s most well-known print series – Fugaku Sanjūrokkei (36 views of Mt. Fuji).Hokusai, and his contemporaries like Ando Hiroshige and Utagawa Kuniyoshi, also changed western art. Ukiyo-e greatly inspired European art movements like Impressionism and Art Nouveau. Many times it was the Mt. Fuji series that opened  the eyes of western painters.

Almost 200 years after Hokusai published the first prints in his famous series depicting the majestic mountain, I took on the challenge to create my own, personal views of Mt. Fuji. Just like in Hokusai’s original works, the shape of the mountain is often echoed in the overall design and composition. Sometimes, I chose to not even include the mountain, but instead make use of something else in the composition. Can you find all the Mt. Fuji’s? Use your imagination and see if you can spot all thirty-six of them.

After a full  year of hard work, this series of Shunga prints was completed in July 2023. The full series was exhibited in Tokyo in August of the same year at the legendary Bumpodo Gallery, curated by Tokyo Dub Agent.Besides the prints themselves, there are also plans for further exhibitions as well as for a book.

During late summer 2025, I decided to re-work the entire series of designs in order to more emphasize line, colours and the overall feel. It is this new edition that is exhibited in this gallery.

/Senju

“The Great Wave Off Kanagawa” by Senju. From his Shunga print series “36 Views of Mount Fuji”.

In “Tako to Ama (the octopus and the pearl diver)”, I make rerefernces to perhaps the most well-known aóf all shunga prints. View Hokusai’s original here

GALLERY

View all thirty-six shunga prints in this series.

(click prints for full  screen view)