Asuka Hill (Asukayama), from vol. 1 of the illustrated book "Fine Views of the Eastern Capital at a Glance (Toto shokei ichiran)"
- Date:
- 1800
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; double-page illustration from book
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Asuka Hill (Asukayama) is a Katsushika Hokusai illustration from Volume 1 of the picture book Fine Views of the Eastern Capital at a Glance (Toto shokei ichiran), dated to around 1800 and held at the Art Institute of Chicago. Toto shokei ichiran is one of Hokusai's important early surveys of Edo's famous scenic sites, structured to give the reader a tour of celebrated places in and around the eastern capital. Asukayama, a low hill north of central Edo, became one of the most beloved spring destinations in the city after the eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune planted it with cherry trees and opened it to commoners in the eighteenth century. Hokusai's illustration captures the seasonal bustle of cherry-blossom viewing, with families spreading mats, vendors hawking food and drink, and groups of friends lifting cups beneath the flowering branches. As an Edo ukiyo-e book illustration, the design combines a careful sense of place with a panoramic view of human activity, allowing the page to function both as topography and as social portrait. The monochrome printing, fine line work, and crowd choreography exemplify Hokusai's command of the ehon format, and the image preserves a vivid record of how Edoites enjoyed seasonal public spaces, anchoring Asukayama in the wider imaginative map of the city.
1821
Color woodblock print with metallic pigments; surimono shikishiban
1822
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
1822
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
c. 1832
Color woodblock print; oban
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Asuka Hill (Asukayama), from vol. 1 of the illustrated book "Fine Views of the Eastern Capital at a Glance (Toto shokei ichiran)" was created by Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) in 1800.
Asuka Hill (Asukayama), from vol. 1 of the illustrated book "Fine Views of the Eastern Capital at a Glance (Toto shokei ichiran)" depicts landscapes.