Banana Garden At Nakashima, From The Series Eight Views Of The Ryukyu Islands

Hokusai's prints of the Ryukyu were probably made to commemorate the Ryukyu mission's arrival at Edo in November 1832. Although the original gazetteer that inspired Hokusai was in black and white, his series is in exquisite color. We can see not only his use of color to heighten the exotic ambiance of the Ryukyu Islands, but also his imaginative power to make alien islands familiar in the guise of Eight Views. The artist carefully selected representative elements of the Eight Views, such as moon, sailboats and snow.