Toshi senga: Selected Pictures of T'and Poems

Toshi senga: Selected Pictures of T'and Poems

Katsukawa hokusai
Edo (Tokyo), Japan 1760 - 1849

woodblock print
22.7 x 28 centimeters

Hokusai began his art career as an apprentice for a woodblock engraver between the ages of 15 to 18. He became a pupil of Katsukawa Shunsho in 1778. The first publication of his work came out 8 months after his studies. His goal was to depict the everyday man as an individual among the elements and to achieve and effect of beauty rather than simple realism. This was one of the most difficult goals in the ukiyo-e school.