Kajikazawa in Kai Province, 1831 by Katsushika Hokusai — restored vintage print print, framed

Japanese Woodblock Prints

Kajikazawa in Kai Province, c. 1831

Kōshū Kajikazawa, from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji — Katsushika Hokusai; Library of Congress impression of c. 1900

From the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Japanese prints collection · 1831

$129

Rights & provenance record

Source scan: LOC (Prints & Photographs Division, Japanese prints).
Rights statement of the archive: “No known restrictions on publication. Ukiyo-e print by an artist who died before 1930; the impression itself was published before 1930 — public domain in the United States, Japan and the EU.”
Original print: Katsushika Hokusai, 1831, 1 print : woodcut, color.. Verified 2026-09-13.

This product is a new archival print made from a restored scan of that print. It is not an original antique and is not sold as one.

The story of this print

Kajikazawa was a river port in the mountains of Kai, where the Fuji River runs fast enough to be dangerous, and Hokusai put a single fisherman on a rock above it, hauling on a fan of lines while a boy crouches beside him with the basket. The rock is a triangle; Fuji, rising behind through the mist, is the same triangle; the fisherman’s lines and the crest of the wave draw the two together. It is one of the most tightly composed sheets in Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, and early impressions are printed entirely in shades of blue.

The Library of Congress sheet is a later printing from about 1900, and we say so: the blues are less subtle than the first state and the mist is handled differently. It remains the same design, cleanly cut, and one of the series’ best pictures of people at work in front of the mountain.

Restored from the archive’s scan without redrawing. The scan is smaller than the rest of the set, so this print is offered at 12×16 and 18×24 only.

Printed to order on archival matte paper, framed in the country of delivery.

Before and after

Left: the archive scan exactly as published. Right: the file that goes to the printer.

Kajikazawa in Kai Province, 1831: archive scan compared with the restored print

Archive scanRestored

Restoration notes

Restoration: trimmed the mount and scanner margins, balanced levels while keeping the paper tone and the flat colour blocks of the woodblock impression (85% of the original colour retained), removed dust and specks, applied gentle sharpening. Toning, wormholes, the printer's registration and the collector's seals are kept where they belong to the object; nothing is redrawn.

Every print carries its archive credit on the packing slip. Paper tone and small imperfections of the original are kept on purpose; nothing is redrawn.

Questions

What does the print show?

A fisherman braced on a rock above the Fuji River, hauling on lines that fan out into the waves, a boy crouched beside him, and Mount Fuji rising behind in exactly the shape of the rock — the two triangles answering each other across the water.

Is this an early impression?

No. The Library of Congress dates this sheet to about 1900, a later printing from the design. The scan is smaller than the others in the series, so it is offered at 12×16 and 18×24.

Is this an original woodblock print?

No. It is a new archival print made from the Library of Congress's high-resolution scan of an original Edo-period impression in its Japanese prints collection. Original impressions of these designs sell at auction for thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars; we never sell originals, and the archive record with its rights statement is on this page.

Can this print be sold legally?

Yes. The artist died in the nineteenth century and the impression was published long before 1930, so the design is in the public domain in the United States, Japan and Europe. The Library of Congress states there are no known restrictions on publication.

Does it come framed?

Yes, if you choose a framed option: a black, white or natural oak wood frame, ready to hang, made in the country of delivery. Unframed archival matte paper and stretched canvas are also available. Sizes follow the print's own proportions — 12×18, 16×24, 20×30 and 24×36 for a standard oban sheet.

Colours vary between screens and paper. The tone you see here is a close match to the archival matte print; framed prints have no glass glare in these previews.

Pairs well with

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print

The Great Wave off Kanagawa, 1831

Katsushika Hokusai · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

Misaka Pass in Kai Province, 1831

Katsushika Hokusai · Library of Congress

$119 24×16 in framed · paper from $39

The discount is applied automatically at checkout when two or more framed prints are in the cart.

Size	Metric	Best for
16×12 in	41×30 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
20×16 in	51×41 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
24×18 in	61×46 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom