The Waterwheel at Onden
c. 1830–1832 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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About this work
- Artist
- Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849)
- Year
- c. 1830–1832
- Medium
- Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Original size
- 26 × 38.7 cm
- Collection
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (impression JP2967; many other impressions exist)
- Movement
- Ukiyo-e
- Series
- Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
A large waterwheel turns beside a thatched mill at the left, water spilling from its paddles in curling blue waves, while country people carry sacks and buckets and a woman washes in the stream. Across the fields, a white Fuji rises in the distance. The print belongs to Hokusai's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, published around 1830–1832 by Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudō). Onden was a village on the outskirts of Edo, where a stream turned a mill wheel for grinding grain. Hokusai delights in the stylised water, almost like clawed fingers pouring off the wheel; impressions vary in colour and condition.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Soft greens and yellows with curling blue water, for a kitchen, family room or child's room at 24×16 in natural wood. It pairs with Fuji from the Katakura Tea Fields in Suruga for two scenes of country work.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Ukiyo-e painting
- Era
- 19th century (c. 1830–1832)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Palette
- cornflower blue
- Mood
- calm
- Rooms
- kitchen, kids room, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, travelers, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×16. Prints at 18×12, 24×16 in — 18×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×16 above a console or sideboard.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — natural wood flatters the lighter palette; black sharpens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is The Waterwheel at Onden in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was The Waterwheel at Onden painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.





























