HOKUSAI KATSUSHIKA, One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji No. 85, 1834

A splendid proof with good contrasts, attributable to the Eirakuya Tōshirō impression (mid-19th century) from the original woodblocks 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: il vecchio pazzo per la pittura, Milan 1999-2000, London 2003
G.C. Calza, Hokusai: le cento vedute del 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
The architectural structure of this print is truly splendid and poetic, with a conception of the landscape that suggests a delicate balance between nature and human intervention. The title immediately evokes an unusual and evocative perspective, that of Mount Fuji observed through the architecture of a bridge.
Several scholars suggest that the inspiration for this view of Fuji may derive from a plate in Kawamura Minsetsu's One Hundred Fuji, dated 1767. Although it is not possible to prove this influence with certainty, it is evident that this viewpoint must have been particularly fascinating for Hokusai, so much so that he revisited the idea several times in his work: in the same series, in fact, it appears in plate no. 48 Shichikyo ichiran no fuji (Fuji with the Seven Bridges); another similar view, titled Fugakawa Mannenbashi shita (Mannen Bridge at Fugakawa), is in the famous series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, and an analogous drawing, but with a different perspective, is present in Hokusai Manga vol. VII. However, while in previous views Hokusai uses arched wooden bridges, in this plate we find ourselves before a much more particular composition: a flat bridge, apparently supported by the cut branches of an old tree, which creates a fascinating contrast with the majesty of Fuji in the background.
The peculiarity of this bridge raises questions about its origin. It is unlikely to be simply a purely imaginative invention by Hokusai, yet there is no evidence of a similar bridge in reality. Its unique architecture seems almost the result of the artist's personal interpretation, who, while drawing on traditional elements, reworks them to create an original vision full of poetic meaning. The scene, therefore, becomes not only a landscape, but a place where nature and architecture merge in a harmonious and mysterious dance.