Kirifuri Waterfall
c. 1832 · Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and colour on paper · Impressions in several collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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About this work
- Artist
- Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849)
- Year
- c. 1832
- Medium
- Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and colour on paper
- Original size
- approx. 37.6 × 25.7 cm (ōban)
- Collection
- Impressions in several collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Movement
- Ukiyo-e
- Series
- A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces
The Kirifuri falls on Mount Kurokami, near Nikkō, pour down the sheet in splayed white fingers while tiny pilgrims climb the rocks at the base and rest on a ledge. The print belongs to A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces, a set of eight vertical designs Hokusai published around 1832, immediately after the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. The series treats water as a living thing; here the cascade is drawn as a branching, almost vegetal form rather than a realistic sheet of spray. The Prussian blue that saturates the pool had only recently become available to Japanese printers and Hokusai used it extensively. Impressions of the design are held by major print collections in Japan, Europe and the United States.
This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A tall, narrow cascade of Prussian blue and white that suits a narrow wall: beside a doorway, in a hallway or bathroom at 16×24. Natural wood and a white wall keep the woodblock feel; pair with the Amida Falls from the same series.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Exhibition poster of a Ukiyo-e painting
- Era
- 19th century (c. 1832)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cornflower blue, cream & beige
- Mood
- calm
- Rooms
- bathroom, hallway or entryway, living room, dining room, dorm room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, travelers, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.
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 Kirifuri Waterfall at Mount Kurokami in Shimotsuke Province in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Kirifuri Waterfall at Mount Kurokami in Shimotsuke Province painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
The full-bleed edition
The same plate printed edge-to-edge, filling the whole sheet — bold and immersive.
