'One Hundred Views of a Metagon': Notes: About Hokusai
"From the age of six I had a penchant for copying the form of
things, and from about fifty, my pictures were frequently
published; but until the age of seventy, nothing that I drew was
worth of notice. At seventy-three years, I was somewhat able to
fathom the growth of plants and trees, and the structure of birds,
animals, insects and fish. Thus when I reach eighty years, I hope
to have made increasing progress, and at ninety to see further into
the underlying principles of things, so that at one hundred years I
will have achieved a divine state in my art, and at one hundred and
ten, every dot and every line will be as though alive. Those of
you who live long enough, bear witness that these words of mine
prove not false." (declared by Hokusai, as told by Gakyo Rojin Manji)
"One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji is a work of such unending
visual delight that it is easy to overlook its underlying spiritual
intent."
cited from "Hokusai, One Hundred Views of Mt.Fuji", Introduction
and Commentaries on the Plates by Henry D. Smith II (Georges
Brazilier, Inc., Publishers, New-York), 1988.
A brief history of the 'One Hundred' genre in Japan:
Minase Ujinari: One Hundred Waka on Fuji (seventeenth century)
Keichu: One Hundred Waka in paraise of Mt. Fuji (1640-1701)
Wada Tocho: One Hundred Haiku on Fuji in 1692
(other series of waka, haiku and kyoka early 1800s)
Kawamura Minsetsu: One Hundred Fuji in 1767-1771
Ike Taiga: painted one hundred Fuji, all lost (1723-1776)
Kitao Masayoshi: One Hundred Fuji, seven known in mid-1770s
Hasegawa Settan: One Hundred Fuji, manuscript 1825
Hokusai: Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji in 1829
Hiroshige: Hundred Famous Places of Edo in 1831
Hiroshige: Fifty-Three Stages of the Tokaido in 1832-1834
Hokusai: One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji in 1835-1847
Hiroshige: Famous Views of the Eastern City,
Sixty-nine Stages on the Kiso Highway,
One Hundred Noted Sited of Edo circa 1834-1840,
Imitations of the Hundred poems by Hundred poets circa 1845,
Hiroshige: Thirty-six famous views of Mt Fuji in 1858