South Wind, Clear Sky (Red Fuji)

Katsushika Hokusai

Color woodblock print (ukiyo-e)

Metropolitan Museum of Art

This iconic woodblock print captures Mount Fuji bathed in the crimson glow of early morning sunlight, a rare meteorological phenomenon that occurs in late summer and early autumn when southern winds bring clear skies. Created by ukiyo-e master Katsushika Hokusai during his prolific seventies, this piece from the celebrated 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji' series exemplifies his genius for compositional abstraction—using only three colors and minimal outlines to convey massive weight and power. The work represents a pivotal moment in art history, helping to establish landscape as a major subject in Japanese printmaking and later inspiring European Impressionists including Claude Monet, who collected 23 of Hokusai's prints for his home in Giverny.