Koishikawa yuki no tan / Fugaku Sanju Rokkei

Animals

Medium:: Woodblock print
Format:: Oban
Source:: British Museum

Typical Price

Later reprint (Meiji–Taisho era publishers): $100–$800
Good later impression (Edo-period, worn blocks or faded color): $5,000–$20,000
Good early impression (crisp Prussian blue, vivid color, sound paper): $20,000–$80,000
Fine early impression (exceptional color, near-pristine condition): $80,000–$200,000

From Hokusai's flagship series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (1830–32). Non-iconic designs from this series sold for $30,000–$37,800 at Christie's Mar 2024. A complete set of 46 prints holds the artist record at $3,559,000 (Christie's, Mar 2024).

Description

Koishikawa in early winter snow is the subject of this print, whose Japanese title translates as "morning snow valley at Koishikawa" and whose series designation links it to the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. The Koishikawa district of northern Edo contained famous gardens (including the Korakuen), and Hokusai renders the seasonal stillness of snow-covered ground with the compositional confidence of his mature landscape style.