Suspension Bridge between Hida and Etchü

Catalog note / 解説

Emotionally evocative and compositionally fantastic, this design is one of the most memorable in Hokusai's Bridge series. A peasant couple, each carrying a heavy load, make a dangerous crossing of a fragile and swinging bridge of bamboo and cord, which is suspended across a chasm full of pines and mist. They are at the midway point, the most critical position, where every motion of the bridge is magnified, and they must proceed with utmost caution to reach the safety of the far side. Hokusai, as usual, mixes Western and Japanese perspectives, sacrificing a scientifically correct depiction of the scene to create a sense of immediacy and drama. By lowering the horizon, he brings an intense fo…