Katsushika Hokusai’s Ukiyo-e I will explain The Lake at Hakone in Sagami Province in Edo in Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.
Lake Hakone in this ukiyo-e is Lake Ashinoko located in Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Mt. Mikuni is on the left side of Mt. Fuji, and Mt. Komagatake is on the right side.
The surface of the lake without a single wave spreads out, and Hakone Shrine, surrounded by cedars, stands quietly on the bank of the lake.
There are no people or living creatures, and an extremely quiet landscape spreads out.
In the composition of this ukiyo-e, the haze clouds stylized in a horizontally flat shape and the cedar trees growing vigorously in places on the screen create a certain rhythm of vertical and horizontal on the screen.
In contrast to Hiroshige Utagawa’s ukiyo-e “The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido”, Hakone’s Lake Map, Hakone is depicted in a very tranquil atmosphere.
Mt. Fuji is pure white and it seems to be winter season.
The hazy cloud is brown and is an expression that does not often appear in ukiyo-e.
This ukiyo-e is from around 1830 to 1832. Hokusai is around 72 years old.
