Ono Waterfall on the Kisokaidō (Kisokaidō Ono no bakufu)

Artist Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (Japanese, 1760–1849)

Dateabout 1833

Mediumwoodblock print; ink and color on paper

DimensionsVertical ōban: 37.8 x 25.4 cm (14 7/8 x 10 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

MarkingsCensor's seal: kiwame Publisher's seal: Eijudo

Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection

Terms

Japanese Print

Object number1901.731

DescriptionTravellers on the Bridge by Ono Waterfall
Label TextThe Ono Waterfall was one of the famous sights on the Kisokaido, the road which ran east to west over the inland mountains between Edo and Kyoto. On a small tributary of the Kiso River, the falls are near Agematsu, formerly the thirty-ninth station on the highway (now in Kiso district, Nagano Prefecture). Hokusai depicts five travelers who meet on the nearby bridge as they gaze at and comment on the waterfall that plunges in even, unbroken streams. Surrounded by jagged precipices and billowing pale blue mist, the waterfall appears taller than it actually is (30 ft). The small wooden building, perched on the rocky promontory that extends from the right of the falls over the water, is a shrine. Adding to the drama are dark areas in the cliffs at the upper left and shading at the bottom of the falls and in the sky. The incorporation of the visible wood grain of the block ("kimetsubushi") adds further texture and detail to the graduated shading ("bokashi") of the sky.

On View

Not on view