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.
Two blind itinerant musicians (zatō) encounter a snowman in a winter street scene, their sightlessness playing against the comic visibility of the snow figure that they cannot perceive. Produced as a surimono in the 1780s, the print reflects Hokusai's early engagement with genre humor and the visual irony that would later mature into the psychological subtlety of his great landscape series.
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
Two Blind Men and Snowman was created by Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) in 1780s.
Two Blind Men and Snowman depicts figures, snow scenes, and winter.
Two Blind Men and Snowman measures 11.1 × 16.8 cm (Oban format).
