Hokusai in Obuse
Obuse is a village located in the “Japanese Alps”, over six days’ walk from Edo. During the last years of his life, beginning in the autumn of 1842, Hokusai stayed there four times for several months at the invitation of his friend, the patron and disciple Takai Kōzan (1806-1883). This wealthy merchant, owner of farms and sake breweries, was also a scholar, painter, and calligrapher. It seems that he met Hokusai between 1833 and 1836 in Edo, and from that first meeting, developed a deep admiration for him. A close relationship developed between the two men, with Kōzan benefitting from Hokusai’s advice and ideas for the creation of his paintings, such as the elephant screen.
Their collaboration is particularly obvious when it comes to the commissions for decorative paintings. Kōzan entrusted Hokusai with painting the ceilings of the festive floats for two districts of Obuse (Higashimachi in 1844, Kanmachi during his third stay in 1845). These floats belong to two of the city’s sanctuaries, the Kōtai jingū and the Suwa jinja, whose deities are associated with water. The ceilings of the first float are decorated with auspicious motifs: a dragon, a male symbol (protector against fire), and its female counterpart, a phoenix (a symbol of peace). For the second float, Hokusai did all of the decorations, the repertoire of which is drawn from Chinese mythology. The ceiling paintings depict rolls of raging waves, one with an ascending movement, called the “male wave” and the other, descending, the “female wave”. The motif of the two complementary waves recalls the Taoist symbol of yin and yang.
Ganshō-in Without a doubt, the most spectacular work produced by Hokusai in Obuse during his last stay in 1848 is the ceiling of the Ganshō-in temple. A Zen monastery of the Sōtō School, Ganshō-in was built in the late 15th century, and rebuilt in 1831 following its destruction. It was the family temple of Takai Kōzan. The ceiling painting is monumental (measuring 6 metres by 5.5 metres or the equivalent of twenty-one tatami mats). It is rectangular in format and executed on twelve Paulownia wood panels. At its centre, a phoenix is seen curled up on itself. Its “piercing gaze in eight directions” stares directly at the viewer, regardless of where they are standing. If the design of the motif, as well as the colours are the work of Hokusai, the realization of the painting seems to be the fruit of a collective effort in which Kōzan played a key role. This masterpiece, through its format, impact, stylization, and rich colour palette, along with the subtle use of Prussian blue, is the culmination of Hokusai’s art. The temple and its ceiling were inaugurated in 1851, two years after the artist’s death.