Title : Surveying a Region

Artist : Katsushika Hokusai

Date : 1848

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Source : Honolulu Museum of Art
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Description : This print shows the shogun's engineers surveying rural lands and using Western techniques and equipment. The inscription mentions the names of the surveyors, and at the end, the person who received the survey: Licensed surveyors of local regions: Ohashi Bungoemon Toshiyuki, the student of Hasegawa Zenemon of Echizen Fukui Fief, and Mori Shosuke Hideaki and Kawahara Gizaemon Tadamasa, both from Hizen fief. Obtained by Uemura Tokubei, Mutsu Morioka fief. In 1848, one year before his death, Hokusai traveled to the northwest region of Honshu, Japan's main island, and made a group of sketches of surveyors at work, some of which were published. This print is Hokusai's last dated work. Although this large print is beautiful, with pleasant colors, Hokusai was more concerned with the accurate depiction of the men and their equipment. Consequently he somewhat sacrified artistry to his desire to accurately record information. For example, the lines are well controlled but are not charged with artistic expression. Hokusai, a long-time book illustrator, revealed his training and inclination to show accurate details in what he depicted. (Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, “Hokusai and Hiroshige”, 1998) In this print a team of men are surveying an area near the coast. The rectangular cartouches contain technical specifications, while the little circular ones give dates corresponding to 1848 and 1849. Most impressions of this print lack the pale beams of mica that appear on the Academy's version. The purpose of these long and narrow beams was to indicate the trajectory of sight that is enjoyed by the surveyors shown peering through their instruments. This is Hokusai's last known print, and was designed when he was 89 years old. It is symptomatic of the widespread interest in Japan in Western learning and science that characterized the late 18th and early 19th centuries. (from Uki-e exhibition 2004: June-August)

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