NHK Teams with British Museum on Artist Katsushika Hokusai Doc

NHK and the British Museum are jointly producing a program about the works of Edo period ukiyoe (woodblock print) artist Katsushika Hokusai that will utilize an 8K camera.

The 8K camera will film Clear Day with a Southern Breeze (Gaifu Kaisei, also known as Red Fuji) from the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series, and the painting Chinzei Hachiro Tametomo Zu (Warrior Hero Tametomo and the Inhabitants of Onoshima Island), both of which are in the British Museum’s own collection. It will also film other Hokusai works held in museums and private collections around the world. A team led by British Museum will provide expert commentary based on the images.

Filming in 8K means it is possible to capture the definition that will reveal details that are otherwise invisible to the naked eye, including Hokusai’s techniques such as the use of diverse colors and complex over layering of fine lines. The intention is to use the 8K camera to reveal new aspects to the artist’s methods.