1786
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
The Mokuboji Temple by the Sumida River is a 1786 by Katsushika Hokusai, a Japonisme work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This drawing shows a temple by a river, done in black ink on paper. A few boats float on calm water. Trees frame the scene in soft lines. It’s a working sketch for a woodblock print. Hokusai used tight cross-hatching to shade the roof and water, guiding the carver’s knife. The lines are precise, not fancy. See it next at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
This final drawing for a woodblock print, known as a hanshita-e, dates to Hokusai’s early Shunro period (1779–1794) and is one of ten surviving works from this phase bearing his signature. Measuring in chuban size, the sheet features the artist’s Shunro ga signature, which he used consistently from 1784 onward. It was acquired in 1910 from Mr. Hogitaro Inada and is now part of the museum’s holdings.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Katsushika Hokusai spent his life in Edo, now Tokyo, where he drew and carved prints for a living.
See the richer artist page
