{"id":16744,"date":"2025-05-19T14:22:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T12:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chateaunantes.fr\/?page_id=16744"},"modified":"2025-06-27T17:27:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T15:27:59","slug":"hokusai-in-obuse","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.chateaunantes.fr\/en\/hokusai-in-obuse\/","title":{"rendered":"Hokusai in Obuse\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Obuse is a village located in the \u201cJapanese Alps\u201d, over six days\u2019 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 K\u014dzan (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 K\u014dzan benefitting from Hokusai\u2019s advice and ideas for the creation of his paintings, such as the elephant screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their collaboration is particularly obvious when it comes to the commissions for decorative paintings. K\u014dzan 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\u2019s sanctuaries, the K\u014dtai jing\u016b 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 \u201cmale wave\u201d and the other, descending, the \u201cfemale wave\u201d. The motif of the two complementary waves recalls the Taoist symbol of yin and yang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gansh\u014d-in<\/strong> Without a doubt, the most spectacular work produced by Hokusai in Obuse during his last stay in 1848 is the ceiling of the Gansh\u014d-in temple. A Zen monastery of the S\u014dt\u014d School, Gansh\u014d-in was built in the late 15th century, and rebuilt in 1831 following its destruction. It was the family temple of Takai K\u014dzan. 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<\/em> wood panels. At its centre, a phoenix is seen curled up on itself. Its \u201cpiercing gaze in eight directions\u201d 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 K\u014dzan 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\u2019s art. The temple and its ceiling were inaugurated in 1851, two years after the artist\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Masterpieces from the Hokusai-kan Museum, Obuse<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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Water in Hokusai\u2019s work<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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Katsushika Hokusai 1760-1849 : Chronology of the Edo period<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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The Great Wave<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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Female beauties and actors of the Edo period<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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Ukiyo-e\u00a0<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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Painting nature<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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Observing and sublimating the landscape<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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Hokusai and Mount Fuji<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Obuse is a village located in the \u201cJapanese Alps\u201d, over six days\u2019 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 K\u014dzan (1806-1883). This wealthy merchant, owner of farms […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":17377,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"indications-recherche":[],"class_list":["post-16744","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHokusai in Obuse\u00a0 - Ch\u00e2teau des ducs de Bretagne | Mus\u00e9e d\u2019histoire de Nantes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chateaunantes.fr\/en\/hokusai-in-obuse\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hokusai in Obuse\u00a0 - Ch\u00e2teau des ducs de Bretagne | Mus\u00e9e d\u2019histoire de Nantes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Obuse is a village located in the \u201cJapanese Alps\u201d, over six days\u2019 walk from Edo. 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