Okinawa Collection

Hokusai and the Eight Views of Ryukyu / 北斎の「琉球八景」

According to a tweet, British Museum owns a copy of Hokusai’s Eight Views of Ryukyu.

#Hokusai had never seen Okinawa. He imagined beautiful views of the islands. (Slightly similar Enoshima near Tokyo?) https://t.co/llZvgC2IjL pic.twitter.com/vzS24O8E60

— Ryoko Matsuba (@RyokoM822) April 22, 2017

[Image source: https://twitter.com/RyokoM822/status/855732013294333953]

Urasoe Art Museum and Worcester Art Museum also own a copy, and it also claims that Hokusai never visited the Ryukyu Islands when he made the print.

More materials for further reading:

• Szostak, John, & Seifman, Travis. (2013). Views of Ryukyu:Paintings and Prints in the Hamilton Library Collection. (The linked page enables you to download a PowerPoint File. Reading a file requires a Microsoft PowerPoint.)
• Yoshitake Ōshiro. Toward an Okinawa Manga history: the dawn of Okinawa Manga  [in Japanese] / 大城宣武、「沖縄マンガ史・試論–沖縄マンガの黎明期」 [in Japanese] 「
• Akimasa Kishi. “On Hokusai’s Eight Views of Ryukyu.” [in Japanese] / 岸秋正、「北斎の『琉球八景』に就いて」[in Japanese] 、『浮世絵芸術』13号 (1966)、日本浮世絵協会、36-39頁。