National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

Denzen Aoudô (1748-1822), a leading western oil painter in the late Edo era, is known by his chalcography using perspective and shading techniques, as well as his "Nikuhitsuga" paintings (a painting done with a brush and colored ink on paper, not a woodblock print).
Light tan colored Mt. Asama erupts against the blue sky and a sea of white clouds spreads at the foot of the mountain. A pine tree stands alone on the gentle mountain to the right, while a piece of timber is laid on the slope to the left. Behind the slope smoke rises to correspond to the volcanic smoke, illustrating signs of life without any visible human figures and a silence that envelopes the whole scene. The view of a savage Mt. Asama is illustrated through the unique colors and touch of an oil painting.
The composition of this work is known to be based on the illustration of Mt. Asama in "Meizan Zufu" (Pictorial Atlas of Famous Mountains) by Bunchô Tani. However, the recent discovery of a draft has revealed the production process. This work has significant meaning as it shows Denzen's originality and the ingenuity required to create such a large format oil painting. Not just a Denzen masterpiece, this work is also one of the most important western oil paintings of the Edo era.