Hokusai's Method

An omnibus edition collecting 15 volumes of Hokusai’s dedicated drawing manuals, ‘e-tehon’.

Of the 300 or so printed books Hokusai created in his lifetime, a huge proportion of these were dedicated drawing manuals, known as e-tehon (drawing models). They show not only Hokusai’s great proficiency as a draughtsman, but also his wealth of ideas, and his sense of humour. This omnibus edition collects 15 volumes of Hokusai’s e-tehon, which feature over 800 illustrations of instructions from 1812 to 1848. With every page faithfully reproduced against the original works, the book shows Hokusai’s playful approach to drawing with amusing songs, pictures comprised of letterforms (a forerunner to today’s emoji), modern designs for craftsmen, and, yes, dance moves. This all-encompassing endeavour also includes a valuable work that he published just before his death. This was his magnum opus, serving to ‘preserve everything I’ve learned’. Note to Readers The pages in this volume are ordered according to the Japanese system. Please turn to the back of the book to begin reading.

Author Biography

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. Kyoko Wada is an art writer, critic and historian of Japanese culture. Ryoko Matsuba is a specialist in Japanese printed culture from the Edo to modern times. She is a lecturer in Japanese Digital Arts and Humanities at the Sainsbury Institute and has been a researcher at the British Museum since 2014.