PRESS RELEASE
2013.07.08

Exhibition Celebrating Mt.Fuji’s Registration as a World Heritage Site

Documentary FUJI

2013 July 17 (Wed.) – September 16 (Mon./Holiday)
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PRESS RELEASE
2013.07.08

Documentary Fuji
2013 July 17 (Wed.) – September 16 (Mon./Holiday)
Part 1: 2013 July 17 (Wed.) – August 11 (Sun.)Part 2: August 13 (Tue.) – September 16 (Mon./Holiday)
Organizer: Shizuoka Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art (Designated Manager: NPO Hexaproject)
Cooperation：

Mount Fuji, a mountain that has since ancient times been treated as an object of worship, a famous mountain landscapeand as artistic inspiration, has become known throughout the world and people have been attaching their various beliefs
to it. Mount Fuji is also the most photographed mountain in the world and many Fuji have been created. This exhibition
presents Ukiyo-e as a documentary of the Edo Period and features works from 2 series of the Thirty Six Views ofMount Fuji made by the meisho (famous places) artist Utagawa Hiroshige in his late years, as well as 40 Views of Mt.
Fuji by the Ukiyo-e enchanted English photographer Chris Steele-Perkins.
As if he was using camerawork techniques with modern composition, Hiroshige sometimes presented Mount Fuji as
the main subject of his work, but in fact he was realistically portraying its existence through the Edo residents' lives.
Perkins uses Mount Fuji as just a focal point in his works, but from them tries to present Japanese society. ThroughUkiyo-e and photography – the media of their time – moments of everyday landscape are captured and preserved
crossing time and countries. How has the role of Mount Fuji in the lives of the Japanese changed since the Edo Period
to today? Without a doubt this change clearly reflects just how different modern-day Japan is since the Edo Period.

◎Artwork
Utagawa Hiroshige*Changes may be made to the exhibit and its displayed works.

Part1Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji ( 冨士三十六景 ) [ 31 pieces; inc. List of Works ]Famous Places in Japan, Fuji Yama viewed from Satta Pass [1 piece]
Famous Places in Japan, Fujikawa River Ferry Boats [1 piece]
Scenery of Seven-Mile Beach in Kamakura [1 piece]
Children’s Daimyo Procession [3 serial pieces]
Total: 37 pieces

Part2

Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji ( 不二三十六景 ) [ 28 pieces ]The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido - Tsutaya Edition - [6 pieces]
Tokaido Kawazukushi Oigawa-no-zu [3 serial pieces]
Total: 37 pieces

Chris Steele-Perkins

Part 1 & 2

40 Views of Mt. Fuji
Total: 40 pieces

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Hiroshige Utagawa
Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji ( 冨士三十六景 )The vertical oban nishiki-e works of Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji ( 冨士三十六景 ) were made in 1858, the year
Hiroshige passed away, and published by Tsuta-ya Kichizo the following year. These innovative compositional works
make use of the paper's vertical structure by using an overhead view to create depth and perspective as well as using
Kinzo-gata Kōzū by enlarging objects in the foreground.

The Sea off Satta in Suruga Province

The Sagamigawa River

Koganei in Musashi ProvinceThis print shows Mount Fuji viewed
between the rocky coastline of Satta Passand an incoming large wave, the shape of
the wave reminiscent of Hokusai's Under
the Wave off Kanagawa.

This work is famous for being included in
the background of Portrait of Père
Tanguy by Van Gogh who was a Ukiyo-ecollector. The raftsman going down theSagamigawa are drawn large from behindcreating perspective.

An interesting composition with the trunk of
the cherry tree drawn large in the foregroundand Mt. Fuji is just visible through the holein the tree. The curvature of the the flowing
Tamagawa creates even more perspective.

Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji ( 不二三十六景 )Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji ( 不二三十六景 ) were published around 1852 by Sano-ya Kihei and the first he made in
his Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji series. The size is horizontal chuban, exactly half the size of Thirty Six Views ofMount Fuji ( 冨士三十六景 ). In the works Under Ryogokubashi Bridge and Tagonoura Bay in Suruga Province,
Hiroshige uses the Kinzo-gata Kōzū composition which is rare in his horizontal works, making them important works intracing his change of style in his later years.
Under Ryogokubashi BridgeTagonoura Bay in Suruga Province

Composed as if peering out throughthe bridge columns of Ryogokubashi,
the viewer can get the feeling oftraveling under a bridge down theSumida River in a boat.

The sharply pointed drying fishing net
in the center of the image contrasts
with the gently flowing lines of Mt.
Fuji's ridge. The triangular shapes of
the nets and the circular motif of thewaves are expressed geometrically.

Rough Seas off Shichirigahama
Beach in Sagami Province

The Seashore in Izu Province
An unusual composition with theview of Mt. Fuji shown through acave wall that had been eroded fromthe ocean waves, it brings a sense ofreality with the strong rock presence
and a far-away faint Mt. Fuji.

The left-half of Enoshima Island
and Koyurugi Point appear between
the rolling waves. The beach is notdrawn in the foreground making theviewer feel they are out at sea.

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Chris Steele-Perkins
40 Views of Mt. Fuji
40 Views of Mt. Fuji by the Ukiyo-e enchanted English photographer Chris Steele-Perkins.
The Ukiyo-e works of Utagawa Hiroshige and Katsushika Hokusai fulfilled a role similar to the social documentaryphotographer of today and tell much about the world we live in. Like Hiroshige and Hokusai, the documentary photographer Perkins shows modern Japan from the viewpoint of a foreigner with the subject of Mount Fuji and its existence
in modern life.

© Chris Steele-Perkins / Magnum Photos© Chris Steele-Perkins / Magnum Photos

Road works and Fuji near Kawaguchiko. I stopped at someroad works at night and Fuji was visible. I made a 4-minuteexposure and the flashing red lights combined with thegreen fluorescent light of Fujinomiya city reflecting fromthe clouds was almost hallucinogenic. 1999.

Coaching baseball between Fujinomiya and Gotemba. 2001.

© Chris Steele-Perkins / Magnum Photos© Chris Steele-Perkins / Magnum Photos

Hot spring with reflected Fuji, near Kawaguchiko. 1999.

Filling station near Shiraito Falls. 2001.

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Comment from the Artist
In 1997 I met the Japanese woman who was later to become my wife. I was determined to work on a series ofphotographs that would help me discover more about the country that had produced this wonderful woman. But
what was this project to be?
Like many westerners I became interested in ukiyo-e prints, particularly those of Hokusai and Hiroshige. Apartfrom their aesthetic brilliance they had a compelling documentary quality that celebrated the look, feel, texture
and energy of the life of that time, over two centuries ago. I loved the work they both produced that was inspiredby Mt Fuji. I admired the boldness with which they pushed their main subject: Fuji, into the background, sometimes so it was almost hidden, from where it oversaw the rich tumble of human activity.
At the same time I saw many photographs of Mt Fuji by contemporary Japanese photographers and was surprisedby how they seemed to search only for an immaterial beauty: fuji bathed in early sunlight, Fuji rising fromfragrant mists, Fuji crowned by mysterious clouds, Fuji juxtaposed with cherry blossom of golden leaves. It was
as if they wanted to rescue Fuji from the messy reality of our time. I could find some sympathy for that approach;a dream of uncontaminated beauty, but finally it was a denial of reality.
My surprise was compounded by my experience. Like most foreigners my first glimpse of Mt Fuji was from theShinkansen traveling south from Tokyo to Kyoto. It was not a view of uncontaminated beauty. There was a shift in
the carriage, people pointed out of the window, nodded, as Fuji came into view through the window, rising from asea of houses, rising from a network of roads busy with trucks and cars, drifting behind high striped chimneys
belching smoke and steam. Electric pylons flashing by. This was the vigourous reality of modern life, and there, inthe distance was Fuji, immutable, still overseeing the rich tumble of human activity. What would Hokusai andHiroshige make of this view of Mt Fuji? Thrilled at it I am sure.
Here was my project. I would explore Japan through Fuji, through the life that surrounded Fuji. I would visit it
and circle it and climb it and breath it and photograph it around the seasons. I would rely upon my own eyes andfollow my own instincts as a documentary photographer. But, I would borrow, in homage, one key aspect of theukiyo-e masters; Fuji, in some form, would be a common presence in all of my photographs. Japan would be mysubject, Fuji my guide.
Chris Steele-Perkins

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ProfileChris Steele-Perkins moved from Rangoon to London with his family in 1949. He graduated with honours in
psychology at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1967-70) while working as a photographer and picture
editor for the student newspaper.
In 1971 he moved to London and started working as a freelance photographer and started his first foreign work in
1973 in Bangladesh followed by work for relief organizations and travel assignments. In 1975 he worked withEXIT, a group dealing with social problems in British cities. He then joined the Paris-based Viva agency in 1976.
In 1979, his first book, The Teds, was published. Chris joined Magnum and soon began working extensively in
the Third World. His latest large-scale project in the developing world was on the situation in Afghanistan. He is
now also working extensively in Japan and England.
Steele-Perkins has two sons, Cedric, born 16th November 1990, and Cameron, born 18th June 1992. With hismarriage to the Japanese broadcaster Miyako Yamada he has a stepson, Daisuke and a grand-daughter, Momoe.
Award• 1988 Oskar Barnack Award• 1988 Tom Hopkinson Prize for British Photojournalism• 1989 Robert Capa Gold Medal,• 2000 World Press Photo• 2008 Terence Donovan Award

Public Colection• Arts Council of Great Britain• Photographers' Gallery (London)• British Library of Political and Economic Science (London)• Victoria and Albert Museum (London)• Side Gallery (Newcastle)• National Media Museum (Bradford)• National Portrait Gallery (London)• Irish Museum of Modern Art (Dublin)• Bibliothèque nationale de France (Paris)• Fnac (Paris)• Tokyo Fuji Art Museum (Hachiōji, Tokyo)• National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne)• Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington, DC)
1979 The Teds
1980 About 70 Photographs
1981 La Gréce au Présent
1982 In Britain's Inner Cities (with Nicholas Battye and Paul Trevor) 1983 Beirut: Frontline Story
1989 The Pleasure Principle
1992 St. Thomas Hospital
2000 Afghanistan, Marvel
2001 Fuji, Umbrage
2002 The Teds (reissue) Dewi Lewis
2004 Echoes, Trolley
2007 Tokyo Love Hello, Intervalles
2007 Northern Exposures, Northumbria University Press
2009 England, My England, Northumbria University Press
2012 Fading Light, a portrait of some British centenarians, McNidder and Grace6

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Related Event 1:
Talk Event"Mount Fuji Through the Eyes of a Foreign Documentary Photographer – Another Side"□ Participating Artist: Chris Steele-Perkins (English with Japanese interpreter.)□ When: July 27 (Sat.) 13:00–14:30□ Cost: Free, but museum admission fee is required□ Limited to the first 40 people to register. (Pre-registration recommended.)□ Registration: Use the web-form at https://tokaido-hiroshige.jp/inquiry/

Related Event 2:
Photo Contest"GREAT MOUNT FUJI / My Heritage"
What type of Mt. Fuji exists in your life? A view of Mt. Fuji from your bathroom window, a commuting
train or bus, a favorite shop or dog-walking path… that everyday landscape just may become your personal
heritage of memory. "GREAT MOUNT FUJI / My Heritage" is now accepting submissions. Send us aphoto of your Mt. Fuji. Selected works will be exhibited in the museum's entrance hall during Part 2 of theexhibition.
Contest Starts : 2013 July 17 (Wed.)
Submission Deadline : 2013 August 18 (Sun.)
Who May Enter : Anyone may enter, both amateurs and professionals, with no restrictions on age or nationality.
*Entrants under the age of 18 will need to submit parent/guardian permission.

What to Enter : □ Unpublished work (has not been shown nor plans to show in other contests) which was photographed been by the entrant who holds copyrights.
□ May be digital or film and either color or black & white.
□ Composite or retouched photos may be submitted.
□ Size・Online Entry: less than 3mb per image; JPEG
・Mail-in Entry: 240mm x 290mm (yotsugiri) print* Winning entrants will be asked to submit originals (digital, negative or positive film) by a designated date.

Entry Methods : Entries may be sent either online or by mail.
・Online Entry / Follow the rules and submission requirements on the contest webpage athttps://www.tokaido-hiroshige.jp/fujisan/
・Mail-in Entry / Attach the artwork entry form to the back of the work and send it with the entry form.
*The entry form is available at the museum or can be downloaded from our website.

Judges : Photographer/ Chris Steele-Perkins (Magnum Photo),
Shizuoka Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art/ Hideyuki Kume (Director), Hisami Omori (Head Curator)
Prizes : 1 Grand Prize: ¥30,000 QUO card; 2 Top Prizes: ¥10,000 QUO card; 3 Finalist Prizes: ¥5000 QUO Card;
3 Special Recognition Prizes: Exhibit Goods
Exhibit of Winning Works : 2013 September 3 (Tue.) – 16 (Mon./Holiday)

Contest Page

http://www.tokaido-hiroshige.jp/fujisan/
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2013.07.08

Press Images
High-resolution data for the following 3 images are available for editorial coverage of exhibitions. Please send your request by email or fax after
reading the usage conditions on the following page.

1© Shizuoka Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art

2

3

Utagawa Hiroshige

Chris Steele-Perkins“40 Views of Mt. Fuji”“Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji
The Sea off Satta in Suruga Province”
From the Shizuoka Tokaido Hiroshige
Museum of Art collection© Chris Steele-Perkins / Magnum Photos

Hours ： 9:00 AM ‒ 5:00 PM (last admission 30 minutes before closing time)
Closed ： Mondays (if it falls on a holiday, then the following Tuesday)
Admission ： Adults: 500 (400) yen / University/High School Students: 300 (240) yen*Junior high students and younger as well as Shizuoka City residents over 70 are admitted free of charge* ( ) indicates prices for groups of 20 or more
* Persons with proof of disability and one accompanying person are admitted free of charge

Organizer ： Shizuoka Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art (Designated Manager: NPO Hexaproject)
Cooperation ：●pr@tokaido-hiroshige.jp

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Shosetsu Konya

Tomei Expressway

Omoshiro Shukuba-kan←Nagoya●Route 1

Shimizu Bank←Shimizu

Yui River

JR Tokaido Line

●Parking P

由比駅

For more information on this exhibition and press inquiries

Ｋ ●Circle●Yui Sakuraebikan

Parking P□ Access by train:
Take the JR Tokaido Line and get off at Yui Station.
It is a 25-minute walk or 5-minute taxi ride from there.
□ Access by car:
Exit the Tomei Expressway at the Shimizu IC and it is 20-minutesby Route 1 from there. There are 21 parking spaces at the museum(Yui Honjin Park Parking).

GS← Satta Pass

●297-1 Yui, Shimizu-ku
Shizuoka City 421-3103
Tel 054-375-4454 / Fax 054-375-5321[URL] www.tokaido-hiroshige.jp[facebook] www.facebook.com/tokaido.hiroshige

Fuji →Tokyo →PRESS RELEASE
2013.07.08

Exhibition Celebrating Mt.Fuji’s Registration as a World Heritage Site

Documentary FUJI
Press Image Data Request

TO: Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art Press Desk

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□ 1. Poster image□ 2. Utagawa Hiroshige “Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji / The Sea off Satta in Suruga Province”□ 3. Chris Steele-Perkins “40 Views of Mt. Fuji”
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Usage Conditions* The images may be used only for editorial press purposes in conjunction with this exhibition and may not be used after the exhibition is over.
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