Mount Fuji Seen from Nashigahara - Itō Takashi

Artist: Itō Takashi (1894–1982)

Title: Mount Fuji Seen from Nashigahara

Date: February 1959

Medium: Genuine Japanese color woodblock print

Format: Ōban yoko-e (horizontal format)

Paper Size: 15.5 X 10.25 in

This original Japanese color woodblock print is Itō Takashi’s Mount Fuji Seen from Nashigahara, dated February 1959.

Mount Fuji Seen from Nashigahara presents Mount Fuji rising beyond a quiet, snow-covered forest. Tall, dark tree trunks dominate the foreground, creating a natural screen through which the mountain gradually comes into view. Scattered evergreens and touches of yellow and rust-colored foliage break up the snowy landscape, while Fuji is rendered in soft shades of blue, white, and pale pink against a muted winter sky. 

Rather than presenting Mount Fuji as an isolated monument, Itō places the viewer deep within the landscape. The strong vertical rhythm of the trees contrasts with the broad mass of Fuji in the distance, creating a striking sense of depth and making the mountain seem to emerge between the trunks. The restrained palette and stillness of the scene are characteristic of Itō’s atmospheric approach to landscape.

This print is similar to, yet distinct from View of Mount Fugi from Yamanaka. 

Inscriptions & Marks:

• Title: Mount Fuji Seen from Nashigahara
• Artist: Itō Takashi
• Date: February 1959
• Signature: Takashi, lower left
• Artist Seal: Red seal beneath the signature
• Technique: Japanese color woodblock print

Condition: Very Good. Light overall toning consistent with age. Colors remain strong and attractive, particularly the subtle pink and lavender tones of the sky, the dark forest foreground, and the blues of distant Mount Fuji. Please review the photographs carefully, as they form part of the condition description.

About the Artist: Itō Takashi (1894–1982) was a Japanese landscape artist associated with the shin-hanga movement and is particularly admired for his atmospheric depictions of mountains, forests, temples, and rural Japan. He worked extensively with the influential publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō and produced a relatively small body of woodblock designs compared with artists such as Kawase Hasui and Yoshida Hiroshi. His landscapes are distinguished by their quiet mood, carefully constructed depth, and sensitivity to changing light, weather, and season. Itō frequently used trees, buildings, mist, and other foreground elements to frame distant views, giving his landscapes an unusually immersive quality.

About the Print: Mount Fuji Seen from Nashigahara dates from late in Itō Takashi’s career and is a particularly strong example of his mature landscape style. Created in 1959, the print approaches one of the most familiar subjects in Japanese art from an unusual viewpoint. Instead of placing Fuji prominently in an open landscape, Itō partially obscures the mountain behind a dense stand of trees. The viewer encounters Fuji almost incidentally, glimpsed through the forest in the distance. The combination of snow, bare trunks, scattered color, and the softly illuminated mountain gives the scene the quiet, contemplative atmosphere for which Itō’s landscapes are particularly admired.