(1760-1849)  冨嶽三十六景 山下白雨 Fugaku sanjûrokkei. Sanka haku-u
(Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji. Rainstorm Beneath the Summit). The series and picture title features in a cartouche in the upper left corner.
Signature: 北斎改為一筆Hokusai aratame Iitsu hitsu. The signature is located to the right of the series and picture title cartouche.
Publisher: no publisher’s seal (西村屋与八Nishimuraya Yohachi is generally accepted as the publisher)
Censorship: no censor seal
Size: Ôban, yoko-e

Originally, the base plate of this woodblock print was printed in blue, which also includes the internal structure of Mount Fuji. The base plate was overprinted with a red-brown printing plate, reaching up to the upper edges of the lightning. The lightning is a broad jagged structure, between the aforementioned red-brown plate at the top and a brown printing plate at the bottom. Roughly speaking, there are two original versions of this motif. In the earlier one, the last character in Hokusai’s signature (“hitsu”) is printed in full, and the internal structure of Mount Fuji displays two dots next to each other at the top in the middle, just below the summit. The later version features the character “hitsu” with a shortened vertical line in its lower part and the right dot in the internal structure is missing. The impression available to Gordon Friese, Dortmund, 17 August 2020,as a photograph, displays the characteristics of the earlier version. However, the depiction of the lightning presents striking features. It is evenly narrow in its entire structure, whereas in most known originals it thickens at its branches. In Gordon Friese’s opinion, the specimen made available to him as a photograph is an early impression of the earlier version from the original printing plates. The printing plate that marks the lower limit of the lightning still covered large parts of the lightning itself. At a later stage, this plate seems to have been rounded in the area of the branches, which resulted in the aforementioned thickenings. Both the fine contour lines of Mount Fuji without any major gaps, and the very clear, fine characters in the cartouche also suggest an early printing state. In addition, the bokashi in the area of the green hill on the far left in the background is also very finely shaded, whereas in many other prints it is rather dark and uniform. The auction house Bonhams, London, sold an impression of this woodcut at auction on 14.5.2015 (lot no. 180) which is similar in all the aforementioned details to the specimen that is available to me as a photograph. The Japanese art specialist at Bonhams, Suzannah Yip, thus wrote about that sheet: “This is one of the three most iconic prints of this series, the other two being the Gaifu kaisei (The 'Red Fuji') and Kanagawa oki nami-ura (The 'Great Wave'). There are variants of the 'lightning' subject, some the result of changes in the blocks, others that look to arise from deliberate variations in the printing. In one such printing variant, perhaps of posthumous date, the lightning appears to illuminate the lower half of the print and trees are visible in the foreground.

Notes:
1. Jack Hiller, Catalogue of the Japanese Paintings and Prints in the Collection of Mr & Mrs Richard P. Gale, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., 1970, p. 446.”

The sheet available to me is slightly trimmed along its outer edges (which Timothy Clark describes as if it were usual for such early prints: “This impression has been trimmed somewhat on all sides” in “100 Views of Mount Fuji” The Trustees of The British Museum 2001, p. 51). The print condition is very good, as are the colours. A discolouration is visible between the signature and the cartouche. A faint vertical centre fold is visible, which, like the corners, has been reinforced on the reverse. The present piece is much better preserved than the specimen offered at Bonhams. Measurements: 24.3 x 36.2 cm, mounted, (CT)

Cf. www.bonhams.com/auctions/22814/lot/180/