Clearly visible from Edo, the majestic cone of the volcano Mount Fuji had long fascinated the Japanese. In the early 1830s Hokusai produced his major series on this subject Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji. It became a popular success. Hokusai created Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji when he was in his seventies. His experiments with diverse styles mixed Eastern tradition and Western techniques. To achieve this mix, Hokusai simplified the formal elements of composition, colour and line.

Thirty-six Views of Mt Fuji feature many different images of the mountain, in a variety of seasonal conditions. Through these images, Hokusai expresses the power of nature, and, in doing so, questions the relationship of man to the natural world.