Honolulu Art Academy extends Hokusai’s Summit exhibit

HONOLULU—The exhibition Hokusai’s Summit: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, which opened September 24, has been inspiring visitors to linger in the gallery and to return to further contemplate the exquisite woodblock prints.

In response to the show’s popularity, the Academy is extending the exhibition by three days, so that the public can take advantage of the museum’s monthly free first Wednesday.

“By extending the show through January 6, people have the opportunity to see it one last time for free. It’s a thank you to the many visitors who have enthusiastically embraced this exhibition, returning again and again.”

The Academy took its exhibition design to a new level with Hokusai’s Summit: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, integrating interactive components into the gallery. Elements such as a desk where people can write haiku and printing stations where people could make their own woodblock prints engaged visitors of all ages.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was one of the most prolific Japanese artists of the late Edo period (1615-1868). During a career spanning more than seven decades, he is estimated to have produced as many as 30,000 works, ranging from paintings and drawings to book illustrations.

He is best known today as a designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints, and in particular was one of the early innovators in the development of landscape prints that characterized the last great development of the ukiyo-e tradition in the 19th century. His print “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa” is one of the most influential and recognizable designs ever made.

The exhibition is curated by Sawako Chang, Project Manager and Japanese Art Research Assistant for the Academy?s Asian Art Department.

This exhibition is supported by a grant from the Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities and is officially endorsed by the Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu.

The Honolulu Academy of Arts’ more than 500 prints by Hokusai, one of the finest collections of its type in the world, and a gift from the late novelist James Michener, includes a complete set of the renowned Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series. Few institutions own the whole set. A monumental accomplishment, this series comprises many of Hokusai’s most famous prints, including “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa,” “Mount Fuji in Clear Weather” (commonly known as “Red Fuji”), and “Thunderstorm Beneath the Summit.”

This special exhibition will present the entire series. Fragile and sensitive to fading, many of the prints in this series are among the Academy’s rarest and most precious works, and they are placed on public display infrequently. This will be an exceptional opportunity to see some of the museum’s signature works of art, and the first time in a decade that the complete series has been displayed.

The series will be accompanied by other prints from Hokusai revealing his remarkable output, and later works inspired by the series that show the central place of Mount Fuji as a symbol of Japan.

For more information, visit honoluluacademy.org.