A waterfall that sets the pace

Look first

1. Follow the pale falling water from the top toward the gathering below. Then reverse direction. Which route feels faster?
2. Look at the repeated dots and narrow lines within and beside the fall. Compare them with the flatter bands crossing the upper part of the picture.
3. Use the roofs at the lower sides as a frame. Notice how the small figures help you sense the height of the water without needing a measured landscape.

Put the format in context

This print belongs to Hokusai’s A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces series. The source dates it to approximately 1827 and records ink and color on paper, 37.5 × 26 cm. Beside the five-sheet New Year scene, its height is similar but its width is much smaller. That makes the pair useful for studying compositional direction, rather than for ranking one as more ambitious.

A question for your next visit

Cover the title and concentrate on the figures. How do their gestures change the way you experience the waterfall?

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