Hokuju | View of Ryogoku Bridge in the Eastern Capital

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昇亭北壽 Shotei Hokuju (1763–1824)

东都两国之风景
View of Ryogoku Bridge in the Eastern Capital

1810-20

木版画 | 横绘大判 | 25cm x 37.5cm
Woodblock-print | Oban yoko -e | 25cm x 37.5cm

早期版本版次；颜色保存非常好；轻微裁切；画面有些许污渍；背面有一处残留的胶纸痕迹
Fine edition, impression and color; slight trimming; minor wear from aging; one piece tape residue verso.

$12,000

Shotei Hokuju was Hokusai’s most famous student, and even though the master’s reputation has loomed larger over the centuries, you can say that it was Hokuju who first embraced the full potential of landscapes in the oban yoko-e full color woodblock print format.

This view of Ryokogu Bridge, the longest in Edo, shows off both Hokuju’s skill and his use of Western techniques. We have an unusually low vantage point, accentuating – and perhaps exaggerating – the length of the bridge. Cumulous clouds, rarely seen in Ukiyoe, billow in the distance. And we see the gentle summer shadows of the bridge and of the food stalls on the near shore. Like those fluffy clouds, shadows were rare indeed in Ukiyoe.

Hokuju is believed to have been born in 1763, and joined Hokusai’s studio around 1793. His most famous works predated Hokusai’s. This early design is in fine condition, with minor wear from aging and minor trimming.

Interested in purchasing?
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昇亭北壽 Shotei Hokuju (1763–1824)

东都两国之风景
View of Ryogoku Bridge in the Eastern Capital

1810-20

木版画 | 横绘大判 | 25cm x 37.5cm
Woodblock-print | Oban yoko -e | 25cm x 37.5cm

早期版本版次；颜色保存非常好；轻微裁切；画面有些许污渍；背面有一处残留的胶纸痕迹
Fine edition, impression and color; slight trimming; minor wear from aging; one piece tape residue verso.

$12,000

Shotei Hokuju was Hokusai’s most famous student, and even though the master’s reputation has loomed larger over the centuries, you can say that it was Hokuju who first embraced the full potential of landscapes in the oban yoko-e full color woodblock print format.

This view of Ryokogu Bridge, the longest in Edo, shows off both Hokuju’s skill and his use of Western techniques. We have an unusually low vantage point, accentuating – and perhaps exaggerating – the length of the bridge. Cumulous clouds, rarely seen in Ukiyoe, billow in the distance. And we see the gentle summer shadows of the bridge and of the food stalls on the near shore. Like those fluffy clouds, shadows were rare indeed in Ukiyoe.

Hokuju is believed to have been born in 1763, and joined Hokusai’s studio around 1793. His most famous works predated Hokusai’s. This early design is in fine condition, with minor wear from aging and minor trimming.

Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.

Shotei Hokuju (1763–1824)

Was Shotei Hokuju, perhaps Hokusai’s most famous student, the stylistic father of… Pablo Picasso?

Not really, but in his uniquely conjured works, we see many hints of modern art, such as cubism and an almost abstract approach to landscapes and the humans who live within them. We also see many broader attributes of Western art, such as perspective, shadows and billowing clouds. These elements display a fertile artistic mind striving for something new. And all this is the early mid-period of Ukiyoe.

Hokuju is believed to have been born in 1763, and joined Hokusai’s studio around 1793. His most famous works – including “True Depiction of the Monkey Bridge In Kay Province” – predated the master’s most notable designs, though of course they never garnered as much fame.

This print includes Western-style clouds, and throughout his career, one example of Hokuju experimenting with Western concepts. Where he saw them is hard to determine, since they were banned in Edo-period Japan at the time, and one suspects the exposure to them was fleeting, because he didn’t quite master all the techniques, such as perspective and use of vanishing points.

But these imperfections only add to the pleasure of his work, capturing the moment when someone was happily wrestling with new ideas. He was not hugely prolific: in addition to prints, almost all of them landscapes, he designed surimono and at least one illustrated book.

Shotei Hokuju died in 1824.