Item from the Mokuhankan Flea Market

Design in Western Style

Size: 23.0cm by 32.0cm (9.06 in by 12.60 in) | Enlargement | Shipping Code: [L] ?

Designer: Katsushika Hokusai

Era: Early Showa | Currency: $ / £ / €

Price: ¥ 5,000$ 44.00£ 31.75€ 37.00 [Item has been sold]

Description: This is one design from a large set of 49 reproductions of Hokusai's work published by Takamizawa in the post-war period. Broken sets are frequently found in the markets here in Tokyo, with the most popular items missing (presumably taken out to be framed, and then never replaced).

The image we see here would have been considered very 'experimental' in its day, being made in imitation of a western 'chiaroscuro' print. Japanese prints of this era never had any recognizable source of light - they never used devices such as shadows, or the shading we seen here on the hillsides.

There is also a meaningless scribbled border around the edge, in clear imitation of a carved wooden frame, and as a final western touch, the title is written horizontally, as opposed to the vertical pattern then common to both Chinese and Japanese.

Cultural appropriation! :-)

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