I recommend this gorgeous book to any fan of Japanese prints in general, or Hokusai in particular. This series of prints, never completed, combines a thousand years of Japanese poetry and culture with Hokusai's rich imagination, giving more meaning to the poems and imagery than either could have by themselves.

After a brief and informative introduction, each two-page spread presents one of the images. It appears on the right-hand side, at roughly the original size (oban, aboutu 10"x15"). Text appears on the left-hand page: the name of the poet, a five-line poem in rigidly defined form, biographical information about the poet, commentary on the poem, and analysis of Hokusai's rendering. Although helpful and informative, the writing never falls into dry pendatry or restatement of the obvious. In books like these, I very often skim the text; here, I take the time to read Morse's comments. They really add to my understanding of the prints and their cultural context.

This series holds special interest because it was never completed. Only twenty seven of the hundred are known to have been printed in color, and they all appear here. Only the key (black ink) block appears for another, over fifty appear as full-sized drawings but were never cut, two drawings are now lost but appear as photos taken when they were still extant, and four appear as prints from blocks cut by a twentieth-century artist working from Hokusai's original drawings. It is maddening to know that Morse has seen photos of two more, held by a collector who has not granted permission to reproduce them. In a few cases, the print and preparatory drawing have both been presented; the drawing appears in reduced form with the text, opposite the print.

As much as I love Western printmaking, it rarely equals the complexity or subtlety of Japanese woodcuts. Among Japanese printmakers, Hokusai holds a position as an undisputed master. This collection does a lot to cement that reputation for the Western reader.

-- wiredweird