Katsushika Hokusai, “Beauty Crossing a River”, 1878

Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) (1760–1849)
“Beauty Crossing a River”, 1878

This adjoined pair of original Hokusai three-colour (black, pink, and blue-grey) woodblock prints was published by Katano Tōshirō (片野東四郎) and Tōhekidō (東壁堂) in 1878 (Meiji 11). The prints are mounted as a diptych on a single sheet of washi paper, originally printed on separate pages (pages 54 and 55) within “Transmitting the Spirit, Revealing the Form of Things: Hokusai Sketchbooks” (Denshin Kaishu: Hokusai Manga, Jūgohen) (伝神開手 北斎漫画 十五編), volume 15.

The Pulverer Collection (https://pulverer.si.edu/node/774/title/1/28) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/57390) both describe this publication and offer online views of all the prints contained within.

The prints are slightly pale in tone—possibly from a later edition? —and are printed on fine washi paper on separate sheets that have been trimmed along the centre borderline. This presentation allows the two sheets, originally separate, to be viewed as a cohesive whole laid upon a single support sheet with ample margins for display. Aside from minor areas of thinness and fractures (notably on the riverbank next to the stream on the left panel and on the lower right of the right panel), the sheets are in very good condition with no stains.

Background Information:
This diptych is from the final volume of Katsushika Hokusai’s renowned 15-volume Manga series—an expansive collection originally conceived in 1812 during a trip to Nagoya. The first set of prints was published in 1814. Initially intended as reference material for Hokusai’s students, the series quickly gained popularity among the general public, eventually expanding to over 4,000 images across multiple volumes. The term “manga” can be translated as “random sketches,” encompassing scenes from everyday life, animals, landscapes, and mythological creatures.

Dimensions:

• Abutted sheets: 22.7 x 25.4 cm
• Borderline of each panel: 17.9 x 12.8 cm 

Price & Shipping:
AU$287 (approximately US$190.85 / €162.60 / £142.81), including worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this exceptional original woodblock diptych by Katsushika Hokusai—a scene that evokes the story of two Zen monks crossing a stream, where the younger questions the elder about the morality of carrying a beautiful lady, only to be retorted by the elder: “Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river hours ago. Why are you still carrying her?”—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.