Works by Katsushika Hokusai (Katsushika shinso gafu), Vol. 2

Works by Katsushika Hokusai (Katsushika shinso gafu), Vol. 2 is the second of two bound volumes of designs by Katsushika Hokusai that together form a gafu (picture album) showcasing the breadth of his observational practice. The volume continues the wide-ranging contents of the set, moving through figure studies, animals, plants, narrative episodes, and landscape vignettes with the economy of line for which Hokusai's sketchbook designs are prized. Gafu volumes occupied an important position in Edo print culture, functioning as both pictorial references for fellow artists and as appealing illustrated books for urban readers interested in the variety of subjects Hokusai could handle. As an Edo ukiyo-e publication in book form, this second volume extends the implicit argument of the set: that ukiyo-e print practice could organize an enormous range of subjects within the consistent visual language Hokusai had developed. Compared with single-sheet ukiyo-e print designs, the volume's bound format allowed Hokusai to develop themes across many pages, exploring variations and demonstrating solutions in ways that influenced the next generation of designers. The impression is held in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums, where it survives as part of Hokusai's printed-book practice. For collectors and students of ukiyo-e print history, the second volume of Katsushika shinso gafu offers a clear sense of how Katsushika Hokusai used the book format as a vehicle for organized pictorial thinking, complementing the canonical landscape sheets that dominate his later reputation.