Fuji with a Rocket (Rōen [noroshi] no Fuji): Half of detatched page from One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku hyakkei) Vol. 3 c. 1835 - 1847

Curator: This is Hokusai's "Fuji with a Rocket," a woodblock print, part of his "One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji." What strikes you first about this image? Editor: The landscape feels so densely packed and energetic, the textures are so rich, but also unsettling with the chaos of the figures. Curator: Indeed. The print depicts figures scrambling as a rocket streaks towards Mount Fuji. Hokusai often used Fuji as a symbol of stability amidst social change. Editor: The rocket feels like a disruption, a portent. Is it a comment on technological advancement threatening traditional values? Curator: Perhaps. Or perhaps a playful juxtaposition of the eternal and the ephemeral. This image also reflects how prints circulated, engaging a broad audience with political and cultural commentary. Editor: It's a fascinating glimpse into Hokusai’s vision and the anxieties of his time, rendered with such dynamic symbolism. Curator: Absolutely, a dynamic collision of tradition and change, captured in a single, evocative image.