Mt. Fuji and fishing boats in the morning mist
by Ogata Gekko
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
- Image courtesy of
- Japanese Art Open Database
Description
This composition places Fuji's snow-capped cone in the distance, seen across a harbor or coastal expanse where fishing boats emerge from low-lying morning mist. The layering of atmospheric haze—rendered through dilute ink washes and carefully graduated bokashi—was among the most technically demanding effects in woodblock printing, requiring the printer to modulate moisture on the washi surface to achieve soft, non-banded transitions. The fishing boats, likely shown in silhouette against the mist-diffused light, provide human scale and compositional foreground interest. The subject synthesizes two recurring Meiji print genres: Fuji views and coastal working-life imagery, producing a composition that reads as both documentary and lyrical.
More Prints by Ogata Gekko
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Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
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1920
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Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
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The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
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Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mt. Fuji and fishing boats in the morning mist was created by Ogata Gekko (尾形月耕).
Mt. Fuji and fishing boats in the morning mist depicts landscapes.