A lone fisherman stands at the edge of a cliff, battered by surging waves, holding the lines of his net against the storm. Behind him crouches his companion who holds a fish basket. From a distance, the outlines of Mount Fuji looms. Nearby a wide band of mist runs across the image amid the shadowy blue sky.

This woodprint print is by the great Edo period master Katsuhika Hokusai (1760-1849) who is best known for his “Great Wave” woodblock print that is as recognizable as the Mona Lisa. It is part of the series “Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji” which Hokusai executed between 1830 and 1832. Like the Great Wave , Kajikazawa in Koshu is a powerful work that conveys a similar message: that humans are frail and vulnerable against the most potent forces of nature. To emphasize his point, Hokusai displays Mt. Fuji only as an outline and in the distance while giving more prominence to the two fishermen in the foreground, drawing the viewer away from the mountain to the imminent dangers facing the fishermen who may be seen as a metaphor for the collective fragility of human existence.