Life Lessons Learned from Hokusai for this Age of Centenarians
CHINO Keiko / Journalist
September 9, 2021
An exhibition of 103 unpublished drawings for woodblock prints by Hokusai Katsushika (1760-1849), an ukiyo-e artist during the Edo period, will open at the British Museum in the latter half of September.
The drawings have never been displayed because the woodblock prints were not published. However, for a long time, a French collector preserved the original drawings. The British Museum purchased them in 2019, and have arranged the first exhibition (also viewable online).
Of course, it is marvelous that these unknown works of Hokusai can see the light of day. However, the claim that these were supposedly drawn in 1829 caught my attention. This is because Hokusai suffered a stroke around 1827 before he turned 70 years old, and these works were drawn relatively soon after his illness.
Hokusai is known for his prolific work, but there are few works from around this time. Previously, his stroke was blamed for this unproductive period. However, the existence of as many as 103 drawings reveals that Hokusai continued to paint despite his disability.
According to "The Biography of Katsushika Hokusai" (written by Kyoshin Iijima and published by Iwanami Bunko), Hokusai brewed citron and created his own treatment for the stroke. Because an ukiyo-e artist who can't use a paintbrush would feel worthless, I can imagine him desperately working to recover. I'm thrilled to think that these original drawings for woodblock prints also served as his therapy. Using his hands to overcome the effects of the stroke was like killing two birds with one stone.
Drawing was everything to Hokusai, and he believed that you become better as you grow older. Therefore, his wish was to live as long as possible and become a "true artist". Thus, it can be said that he overcame the effects of the stroke with his intense determination.
However, when I wrote "Katsushika Hokusai - a Journalist in Edo", I truly felt that, even before the stroke, Hokusai had a healthy lifestyle.
For example, he enjoyed walking. Walking frequently made his legs strong, and strong legs made frequent walks possible. Even in his late 80s, he was not deterred by rain. Once he went from Katsushika to Ryogoku in the rain wearing only a straw hat and straw sandals for protection. Then, after he arrived, he created dozens of drawings upon request. He was over 180 cm tall, and used a shoulder-carry pole as a cane. His friends would say that walking long distances was no trouble at all to Hokusai.
And he had a plain and simple diet. In "The Biography of Katsushika Hokusai", it is written that he reached for a paintbrush as soon as he awoke and continued to draw throughout the day. When his eyes and body got tired, he ate two servings of soba noodles and slept.
People in the Edo period had a plain diet compared to today’s gluttony, but Hokusai subsisted on even less. The food that peddlers sold or the sweet buns given to him as gifts often became his meals.
Furthermore, he didn't smoke or drink. He only drank lower-grade tea. Since he was said to have strong teeth, he must have been blessed with good health from birth. With his manner of living, life-style related diseases wouldn't be of much concern to him.
This all helped Hokusai continue as an ukiyo-e artist until he was 90 years old; an amazingly long life for the Edo era. Even in his 70's, after he suffered the stroke, he published one masterpiece after another: "Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji" in 1831 and "One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji" in 1834. His talent fully blossomed in this period.
Even in his 80s, he often visited Shinshu Obuse, 250 kilometers from Edo, stayed there, and painted original drawings and ceiling paintings. His last visit to Obuse was in 1848 when he was 89 years old. During the New Year of 1949, he finished "Dragon Flying over Mount Fuji" - one of his final works.
Looking at the picture of a dragon rising high into the sky as a tornado-like black cloud against the backdrop of Mt. Fuji covered with snow, I think that the dragon was Hokusai himself as he foresaw his own destiny.
Four months later, Hokusai passed away in a small tenement house in the Asakusa temple precinct of Tokyo while being taken care of by his daughter, Oi, who was also an ukiyo-e artist. He wasn't just a person who lived a long life. An active painter throughout his life, Hokusai may have been just a pioneer for this "Age of Centenarians."
Keiko Chino (Freelance journalist, Sankei Shimbun, guest editorial writer)
The drawings have never been displayed because the woodblock prints were not published. However, for a long time, a French collector preserved the original drawings. The British Museum purchased them in 2019, and have arranged the first exhibition (also viewable online).
Of course, it is marvelous that these unknown works of Hokusai can see the light of day. However, the claim that these were supposedly drawn in 1829 caught my attention. This is because Hokusai suffered a stroke around 1827 before he turned 70 years old, and these works were drawn relatively soon after his illness.
Hokusai is known for his prolific work, but there are few works from around this time. Previously, his stroke was blamed for this unproductive period. However, the existence of as many as 103 drawings reveals that Hokusai continued to paint despite his disability.
According to "The Biography of Katsushika Hokusai" (written by Kyoshin Iijima and published by Iwanami Bunko), Hokusai brewed citron and created his own treatment for the stroke. Because an ukiyo-e artist who can't use a paintbrush would feel worthless, I can imagine him desperately working to recover. I'm thrilled to think that these original drawings for woodblock prints also served as his therapy. Using his hands to overcome the effects of the stroke was like killing two birds with one stone.
Drawing was everything to Hokusai, and he believed that you become better as you grow older. Therefore, his wish was to live as long as possible and become a "true artist". Thus, it can be said that he overcame the effects of the stroke with his intense determination.
However, when I wrote "Katsushika Hokusai - a Journalist in Edo", I truly felt that, even before the stroke, Hokusai had a healthy lifestyle.
For example, he enjoyed walking. Walking frequently made his legs strong, and strong legs made frequent walks possible. Even in his late 80s, he was not deterred by rain. Once he went from Katsushika to Ryogoku in the rain wearing only a straw hat and straw sandals for protection. Then, after he arrived, he created dozens of drawings upon request. He was over 180 cm tall, and used a shoulder-carry pole as a cane. His friends would say that walking long distances was no trouble at all to Hokusai.
And he had a plain and simple diet. In "The Biography of Katsushika Hokusai", it is written that he reached for a paintbrush as soon as he awoke and continued to draw throughout the day. When his eyes and body got tired, he ate two servings of soba noodles and slept.
People in the Edo period had a plain diet compared to today’s gluttony, but Hokusai subsisted on even less. The food that peddlers sold or the sweet buns given to him as gifts often became his meals.
Furthermore, he didn't smoke or drink. He only drank lower-grade tea. Since he was said to have strong teeth, he must have been blessed with good health from birth. With his manner of living, life-style related diseases wouldn't be of much concern to him.
This all helped Hokusai continue as an ukiyo-e artist until he was 90 years old; an amazingly long life for the Edo era. Even in his 70's, after he suffered the stroke, he published one masterpiece after another: "Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji" in 1831 and "One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji" in 1834. His talent fully blossomed in this period.
Even in his 80s, he often visited Shinshu Obuse, 250 kilometers from Edo, stayed there, and painted original drawings and ceiling paintings. His last visit to Obuse was in 1848 when he was 89 years old. During the New Year of 1949, he finished "Dragon Flying over Mount Fuji" - one of his final works.
Looking at the picture of a dragon rising high into the sky as a tornado-like black cloud against the backdrop of Mt. Fuji covered with snow, I think that the dragon was Hokusai himself as he foresaw his own destiny.
Four months later, Hokusai passed away in a small tenement house in the Asakusa temple precinct of Tokyo while being taken care of by his daughter, Oi, who was also an ukiyo-e artist. He wasn't just a person who lived a long life. An active painter throughout his life, Hokusai may have been just a pioneer for this "Age of Centenarians."
Keiko Chino (Freelance journalist, Sankei Shimbun, guest editorial writer)
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
HOKUSAIに学ぶ人生100歳時代
千野 境子 / ジャーナリスト
2021年 9月 9日
江戸の浮世絵師、葛飾北斎（1760～1849）の未発表の版下絵103点から成る絵手本「万物絵本大全図」展が、9月末から大英博物館で開催される。
未発表というのは、絵手本が出版されなかったためなのだが、原画である版下絵が残り、フランス人コレクターが長く所蔵していたのを大英博物館が2019年に購入、初の展示公開にこぎつけた（オンラインでは公開済み）。
未見の北斎作品が日の目を見るのはもちろん素晴らしい。しかし私はこれらが描かれたとされる文政12（1829）年という時期に真っ先に注目した。というのも北斎は70歳を前にした文政10年頃、中風に倒れており、作品はちょうど病後に当たるからだ。
多作で知られる北斎だがこの頃の作品は少なく、従来、中風も寡作の理由の一つとされてきた。しかし103点もの存在が明らかになったことで、北斎が病にありながらも絵を描き続けていたことが分かる。
『葛飾北斎傳』（飯島虚心著、岩波文庫）によれば、北斎は柚子を煎じて自力で中風を治したという。浮世絵師は絵筆を握れなくなったらお終いだから、必死で療養に励む北斎の姿が目に浮かぶようだ。そしてこれらの版下絵はリハビリも兼ねていたのではないかとの想像も膨らむ。手を動かすのは中風の予後には一石二鳥である。
北斎は絵がすべて、そして絵は年を取ればとるほど上手くなると信じていた。だから可能な限り長生きをし、「真正の画工」になることが願いでもあった。そのために中風も強い意志で克服したのだと言える。
しかしそもそも北斎は、生活スタイルが健康ライフそのものだったというのが、近刊『江戸のジャーナリスト 葛飾北斎』を書いた際の偽らざる感想だ。
例えば歩くのが大好き。よく歩くから健脚、健脚だからよく歩ける。80代後半になっても雨降りに外出を厭わず、蓑笠、草鞋履きで葛飾から両国迄出かけ、着くなり求められて数十枚の書画を描いたとのエピソードがある。180㎝を越す長身、天秤棒を杖代わりに、相当な長距離を歩いても「北斎は屁とも思わぬ」なんて知人から言われたりした。
そして粗食。朝起きるや絵筆を握り、ひたすら描き続け、目も体も疲れて来ると蕎麦２杯をすすって床に就くと『葛飾北斎傳』にある。
もともと江戸時代は今日のような飽食と無縁とはいえ、北斎は輪をかけて質素で、店屋物や土産の饅頭などで済ませてしまうこともあったらしい。
また酒、タバコはやらず、粗茶を嗜むていど。歯も丈夫だったというから元来、健康には恵まれていたのだろう。これでは生活習慣病など罹りようもない感じである。
こうして江戸時代としては超長寿の数え90歳まで、北斎は浮世絵師であり続けた。しかも中風に倒れた後の70代こそ『富嶽三十六景』（天保２年＝1831年）『富嶽百景』（同５年）と傑作を次々発表、才能を全開させている。
80代に入っても江戸から250キロ離れた信州小布施に度々出向き、逗留し、肉筆画や天井絵を描いた。最後の小布施行は嘉永元（1848）年、89歳の時だ。そして絶筆にもっとも近い1枚とされる肉筆画『富士越龍図』が完成したのは、同２年正月のことだった。
雪に覆われた富士山を背景に、竜巻のような黒雲と共に空へと高く昇っていく龍の絵を見ていると、龍は自らの運命を予感した北斎その人ではないかと思う。
4か月後、北斎は東京・浅草の寺の境内にある長屋で、娘の浮世絵師、応為に看取られながら生涯を終えた。単なる長寿ではない。生涯現役絵師を通した北斎は、これからの「人生100歳時代」のパイオニアではないだろうか。
千野境子（フリーランスジャーナリスト、産経新聞客員論説委員）
未発表というのは、絵手本が出版されなかったためなのだが、原画である版下絵が残り、フランス人コレクターが長く所蔵していたのを大英博物館が2019年に購入、初の展示公開にこぎつけた（オンラインでは公開済み）。
未見の北斎作品が日の目を見るのはもちろん素晴らしい。しかし私はこれらが描かれたとされる文政12（1829）年という時期に真っ先に注目した。というのも北斎は70歳を前にした文政10年頃、中風に倒れており、作品はちょうど病後に当たるからだ。
多作で知られる北斎だがこの頃の作品は少なく、従来、中風も寡作の理由の一つとされてきた。しかし103点もの存在が明らかになったことで、北斎が病にありながらも絵を描き続けていたことが分かる。
『葛飾北斎傳』（飯島虚心著、岩波文庫）によれば、北斎は柚子を煎じて自力で中風を治したという。浮世絵師は絵筆を握れなくなったらお終いだから、必死で療養に励む北斎の姿が目に浮かぶようだ。そしてこれらの版下絵はリハビリも兼ねていたのではないかとの想像も膨らむ。手を動かすのは中風の予後には一石二鳥である。
北斎は絵がすべて、そして絵は年を取ればとるほど上手くなると信じていた。だから可能な限り長生きをし、「真正の画工」になることが願いでもあった。そのために中風も強い意志で克服したのだと言える。
しかしそもそも北斎は、生活スタイルが健康ライフそのものだったというのが、近刊『江戸のジャーナリスト 葛飾北斎』を書いた際の偽らざる感想だ。
例えば歩くのが大好き。よく歩くから健脚、健脚だからよく歩ける。80代後半になっても雨降りに外出を厭わず、蓑笠、草鞋履きで葛飾から両国迄出かけ、着くなり求められて数十枚の書画を描いたとのエピソードがある。180㎝を越す長身、天秤棒を杖代わりに、相当な長距離を歩いても「北斎は屁とも思わぬ」なんて知人から言われたりした。
そして粗食。朝起きるや絵筆を握り、ひたすら描き続け、目も体も疲れて来ると蕎麦２杯をすすって床に就くと『葛飾北斎傳』にある。
もともと江戸時代は今日のような飽食と無縁とはいえ、北斎は輪をかけて質素で、店屋物や土産の饅頭などで済ませてしまうこともあったらしい。
また酒、タバコはやらず、粗茶を嗜むていど。歯も丈夫だったというから元来、健康には恵まれていたのだろう。これでは生活習慣病など罹りようもない感じである。
こうして江戸時代としては超長寿の数え90歳まで、北斎は浮世絵師であり続けた。しかも中風に倒れた後の70代こそ『富嶽三十六景』（天保２年＝1831年）『富嶽百景』（同５年）と傑作を次々発表、才能を全開させている。
80代に入っても江戸から250キロ離れた信州小布施に度々出向き、逗留し、肉筆画や天井絵を描いた。最後の小布施行は嘉永元（1848）年、89歳の時だ。そして絶筆にもっとも近い1枚とされる肉筆画『富士越龍図』が完成したのは、同２年正月のことだった。
雪に覆われた富士山を背景に、竜巻のような黒雲と共に空へと高く昇っていく龍の絵を見ていると、龍は自らの運命を予感した北斎その人ではないかと思う。
4か月後、北斎は東京・浅草の寺の境内にある長屋で、娘の浮世絵師、応為に看取られながら生涯を終えた。単なる長寿ではない。生涯現役絵師を通した北斎は、これからの「人生100歳時代」のパイオニアではないだろうか。
千野境子（フリーランスジャーナリスト、産経新聞客員論説委員）
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟