繪本彩色通　初編|Picture Book on the Use of Coloring, first volume (Ehon saishikitsū shohen) 繪本彩色通 初編

Art Historical Context

Created by the legendary ukiyo-e master Katsushika Hokusai in 1848, *Picture Book on the Use of Coloring, first volume* offers a rare glimpse into the artist’s late-career interest in instruction and technique. Published during Japan’s Edo period, when woodblock-printed books reached wide audiences, this compact volume served as a practical guide for applying color to prints. Its pages feature delicate line drawings of birds and flowers—motifs beloved in Japanese art—accompanied by the artist’s own handwritten color notes and sample scribbles. Hokusai’s approach blends precision with creativity, demonstrating how subtle washes and layered pigments could bring life to simple outlines. The book’s modest size made it accessible for students and amateur artists, reflecting the growing democratization of artistic knowledge in nineteenth-century Japan. Today it stands as both a teaching tool and a testament to Hokusai’s enduring curiosity, completed just a year before his death at eighty-nine.

About the Artist

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (Japanese) · 1760 –1849

Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1760–1849 Tokyo (Edo)