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Mishima Pass in Kai Province

Name: Mishima Pass in Kai Province
Brand: The Floating World
SKU: PA-00369

Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1830–32

The Floating WorldPA-00369Tear sheet

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No print size passed the check for this piece: at 10 x 8 in, Wrong shape: a 15% crop. We would rather show it than sell a soft print.

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On the pass road, travelers join hands around a cryptomeria too huge for the picture — its crown is cut off by the sky — while Fuji looks on over the ridge. Hokusai's joke about measurement: the only way to know a great thing's size is to put your arms around it — and fail. The tree bursts the frame; Fuji, far larger, fits neatly inside it. Scale is a matter of distance. "What is near overwhelms. What endures sits quietly at the horizon."

Maker: Katsushika Hokusai
Date: c. 1830–32
Medium of the original: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Rights: Cleared for print
Catalogue number: PA-00369

Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.

How the print check works

Sizes withheld
Size	Why
10 x 8 in	Wrong shape: a 15% crop
12 x 8 in	140 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
14 x 11 in	Wrong shape: a 13% crop
16 x 12 in	95 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
18 x 12 in	93 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
20 x 16 in	Wrong shape: a 15% crop
24 x 16 in	70 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
24 x 18 in	63 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
30 x 20 in	56 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
30 x 24 in	Wrong shape: a 15% crop
36 x 24 in	46 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
40 x 30 in	38 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
48 x 36 in	31 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
60 x 40 in	28 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged