Fuji in the Evening Sun at Shimadagahana (Shimadagahana sekiyō Fuji): Half of detatched page from One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku hyakkei) Vol. 2 Possibly 1835 - 1836

Curator: This is Katsushika Hokusai's "Fuji in the Evening Sun at Shimadagahana," a woodblock print that was once part of his series "One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji." Editor: There's a real sense of movement here, of the workers in the foreground bowed, connected by their fishing lines to the water—almost as if they are part of the same woven cloth. Curator: Hokusai was deeply interested in depicting the lives of ordinary people. Here, the workers symbolize not just labor, but also the deep social and economic structures of the time. Editor: And Fuji, always a constant. It's a symbol of permanence against the transitory nature of daily life. It anchors the entire composition. Curator: Absolutely. The way Hokusai uses the symbol of Fuji is really interesting from a socio-political point of view. It's a very deliberate positioning. Editor: I'll certainly be thinking about this image and what it signifies the next time I see Mount Fuji. Curator: Indeed, it challenges the way we think about class and representation in art.