Surveying a Region

Catalog note / 解説

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 t…