The Wind from Mt. Fuji

Mount Fuji in the woodcuts by ukiyo-e masters and in contemporary art – the world’s most frequently portrayed volcano is the theme of an exhibition organised by the Manggha Museum.

People in the Land of the Rising Sun believed that Mount Fuji was a gateway to the world, and that the summit was the dwelling place of gods. Japan’s highest peak remains the destination of annual pilgrimages, which have only recently opened to women. The iconic symmetrical peak, usually topped with snow, accompanies locals throughout provinces on Honshu island, and it is clearly visible from Japan’s famous Tokaido route, connecting Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Kyoto, the former capital city. “Misty rain / Today is a happy day / Although Mt. Fuji is unseen”, wrote Matsuo Bash?, one of the most famous haiku writers, in the 17th century.

Mount Fuji is a common motif in Japanese arts and literature; the most beautiful portraits of this volcanic peak were created in the 19th century, towards the end of the Edo period (1603-1868). The era was characterised by the development of the ukiyo-e (literally “pictures of the floating world”) woodcut technique. It became one of the main styles of art of the affluent Japanese townspeople. Although Japanese artists have always been sensitive to the beauty of nature, it was Katsushika Hokusai who introduced landscapes to the woodcut technique. The exhibition will feature many of his woodcuts from the cycle Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji from 1828; they enchanted Europe in the late 19th century, and became an inspiration for many Western artists. They found their way to Kraków thanks to the outstanding collector and patron of the Manggha Museum – Feliks “Manggha” Jasieński – who donated them with his entire collection to the National Museum in Krakow in 1920. The holy mountain was also explored artistically by the last of the great ukiyo-e masters, Utagawa Hiroshige: the exhibition will also feature his own interpretation of Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.

Mount Fuji has been inspiring artists for over a century, both in Japan and across the globe. Alongside traditional woodcuts, Manggha will present a cycle of oil paintings by the contemporary German artist Udo Kaller, inspired by Hokusai.
And so we can await days when we can view Mount Fuji for ourselves, surrounded by old Japan – a floating world. The landscapes, created on fragile paper, are like a wind from Mount Fuji, described by : “The wind from Mt. Fuji / I put it on the fan / Here, the souvenir from Edo.” (Dorota Dziunikowska. "Karnet" monthly)

Mount Fuji: Hokusai and Hiroshige. Japanese Landscape Woodcuts from the Collections of Feliks “Manggha” Jasieński
20 January – 6 May 2012