HOKUSAI KATSUHIKA, One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji n. 70, 1836-1847

Splendid proof with good contrasts, attributable to the print by Eirakuya Tōshirō (mid 19th century) from the original woods of the Egawa workshop. Printed on Japanese paper, in excellent condition, with original untrimmed margins beyond the marginal line.

Annotated Bibliography
H.D. Smith II, Hokusai: One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji, New York: George Braziller, 1988
M. Forrer, Hokusai, London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1991
M. Forrer, Hokusai, New York: Rizzoli, 1988
M. Forrer, Hokusai: Prints and Drawings, Munich: Prestel, 1991
G.C. Calza, Hokusai: The Old Madman of Painting, Milan 1999-2000, London 2003
G.C. Calza, Hokusai: The One Hundred Views of Fuji, Milan: Editoriale Nuova, 1982
J. Hillier, The Art of Hokusai in Book Illustration, London: Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1980
J. Hillier, L. Smith, Japanese Prints: 300 Years of Albums and Books, London: British Museum Publications, 1980
R.S. Keyes, Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan, New York: George Braziller, 2006
T. Clark (ed.), Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave, London: British Museum Press, 2017
M. Forrer, W.R. van Gulik, Hokusai and His School: Paintings, Drawings and Illustrated Books, Leiden: Society for Japanese Arts and Crafts, 1991
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/78803

Commentary
In this scene, a cooper is hammering the last stave of a large tub, with his legs spread in a solid pose that perfectly frames the profile of Mount Fuji, visible between his legs. The composition directly recalls the famous plate from the Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, Fujimigahara, where the mountain is seen through an overturned tub: here, instead, it is the body of the craftsman that serves as a frame, creating an unexpected juxtaposition typical of Hokusai's visual inventions.
On this plate, a poem by the same artist has been preserved, a senryū almost perfectly adhering to the image: “Hachi no ji no / funbari tsuyoshi / natsu no Fuji” (“Strong and clear pose in the shape of eight: Fuji in summer”).
The Japanese character for the number 8 (hachi) indeed recalls both the open-legged position of the cooper and the slopes of Fuji, which in summer appears clear, devoid of snow and winter clouds. Composed around 1831, this verse may have directly inspired the view, confirming the dialogue between poetry and image that characterizes Hokusai's work.
Beyond the wit of the juxtaposition, the plate embodies one of the recurring themes of the artist: the formal resonance between the human body and the silhouette of Fuji, as if the man himself could, for a moment, incorporate the mountain or become a natural extension of it.