Description
The Kirifuri waterfall (霧降の滝) is located a few kilometers northeast of the temple complex of Nikko (日光). The water falls from a height of 75 meters and, crashing on the rocks, forms a mist from which originates the name “Kirifuri”, which means precisely: the falling (降) mist (霧). In this wonderful woodblock print, we can admire this waterfall in the interpretation of the famous artist Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) who, with a wise use of colors and with the skillful insertion of five travelers entranced by the contemplation of such a great beauty, masterfully evokes the sense of the sacredness of the nature that is inherent in Japanese spirituality.
The work, printed for the first time around 1832 by the publisher Nishimuraya Yohachi (西村屋与八), owner of Eijudo (永寿堂), is taken from the famous series “A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces” (諸国滝廻り) and is titled “Kirifuri Waterfall at Kurokami Mountain in Shimotsuke Province” (下野黒髪山きりふりの滝).
The woodblock print on Japanese washi paper (和紙) is presented here in a fine edition of 2018 made, as we read in the seal on the back, by the prestigious Adachi Hanga (アダチ版画) in Tokyo and is in very good condition.
