Drawing 4,  19.3 X 27.4cm.

Tametomo saved by the Tengu,  by Hokusai.
Published in Chinsetsu yumihari zuki, vol. 1,  pp. 18B – 19A, in 1807. 

 Changes from drawing to print:    

• The clouds. Their mass has stayed the same, but the contours have all been reworked to different degrees.
• The waves have also been strongly reworked. The two waves in the top left have been noticeably moved lower down, while the crests of the wave in the bottom left and the second and third banks of waves from the top on the left which are only sketched in the drawing are fully finished in the print.
• The lightning, in the top right, which crosses the tengu’s leg, has been extended in the print and the tengu has been moved slightly lower down.
• The text has been added.
• The free and spontaneous lines for the mass of the waves, in the bottom left, go well over the limits of the rectangular frame in the print.
   

Artist's shorthand:

• The waves: these are drawn precisely, with strong ink and firm lines around the boat, then get progressively simpler and eventually become a simple line, for the positioning of a crest, in much paler ink frequently used just to show the mass.
  Along these same lines, the more detailed the drawing of the waves, the more faithfully they are copied in the print. Conversely, the looser the lines are, the more they are reworked.
• The clouds and lightning are only indicated.
•  The details on the boat on the right-hand side are applied to all of the boat in the print.
• As always: hair, the handle of the sword and the patterns on the clothes are not yet drawn. The detail of the pattern on Tametomo’s jacket has only been shown on one sleeve.

There is a striking contrast, when you compare this drawing with Fig. 3, which was published in the same book, same volume and 2 pages earlier. In contrast to Fig. 3, this work is clearly the work of one artist, and shows the sense of drama and imagination typical of Hokusai’s best work: an elaborate positioning within the  border and a magnificently controlled stroke from beginning to end. The composition is very skilfully structured over two pages, each page retaining a perfect balance, connected by the sea and clouds and separated by a visible margin. A possible explanation for this is that Hokusai, to allow for the effect of this gap between the two pages, prepared for it in the drawing. This hypothesis seems more than likely, considering that the rest of the composition, the sea and the sky, could be freely adapted in the next drawing.