Hokusai's genre scenes, bijin-ga (beautiful women), and miscellaneous subjects represent the breadth of his career across more than seven decades. The market for non-landscape Hokusai prints has strengthened as collectors seek beyond the most famous designs.
Figures move through a pastoral setting gathering seasonal herbs, their tasks depicted with the attentive detail Hokusai brought to scenes of rural industry. Issued as a long-format [surimono](/glossary/surimono) (nagaban) around 1796–97, the print was likely commissioned for a poetry gathering commemorating a spring custom tied to the lunar calendar, when collecting young greens carried both culinary and medicinal significance.
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
Gathering Herbs was created by Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) in c. 1796/97.
Gathering Herbs depicts figures, spring, and daily life.
