Slope in Murotsu

Description

A spectacular scene by Nishijima Katsuyuki. The slope of the title can be taken to refer to the slope on which the houses stand, but also to the magnificent clouds that form their own mountain. Such reflections are often encountered in Japanese woodblock printing, for example in perhaps the most famous print of all, by Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. There, one of the waves echoes the shape of Mount Fuji, and another the shape of the clouds towering over Mount Fuji. The boats, dwarfed by the wave and thus even more so by Mount Fuji, and ultimately most of all by the sky, highlight the endless power of nature. Whereas in Hokusai’s print the imagery might seem menacing to the seamen, such an element seems lacking in the current print by Nishijima Katsuyuki. However, the imposing vastness of nature, in all its beauty, is beyond escape for the viewer here as well.