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Red Fuji is one of Katsushika Hokusai's most famous prints. Image courtesy of the Sackler Gallery.

The scenes depicted in Katsushika Hokusai’s famous woodblock print series, “36 Views of Mt. Fuji,” are usually tranquil—fishermen, peasants and bricklayers going about their daily business in the shadow of Mt. Fuji’s ever-present profile. The reality, however, was turmoil. In 19th-century Japan, “the political capital is tense with action,” explains James Ulak, Curator of Japanese Art at the Sackler Gallery. “The government is wobbling, they’ve had a willy-nilly ten years, but things are collapsing. There are two great factions in the Japanese government: one ready to open up to the west, to modernize, and the other to seal things off.” This tension came to a head in 1854, when Commodore Matthew Perry’s “Black Ships” sailed into Edo Bay to demand that Japan open its ports for trade, bringing two hundred years of sakoku, or seclusion from the world, to an end.

And as this political climate was brewing, Japanese and Western art began to awaken to each other’s existence.

The Sackler Gallery’s exhibition of Hokusai’s “36 Views of Mt. Fuji” charts the beginning of this relationship. The exhibition is part of the Cherry Blossom Festival’s centennial celebration of Japan’s original gift of 3,000 cherry trees to Washington—and, in this spirit, highlights the cultural exchange that was starting to creep into Japanese art.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was one of the first print artists of his time to incorporate foreign influences in his work. Studying forbidden Dutch pastoral landscapes that had been smuggled into Japan by traders, he used western styles of realism, perspective and shadow to create a new Japanese print style.

“I think what he brought to the Japanese print was the combination of Chinese, Japanese and European ideas. And his ideas were always changing,” says the show’s curator Ann Yonemura. A revolutionary at 70 years of age, Hokusai’s “36 Views” was the first major Japanese print series to depict landscapes. His interest in commoners was also a significant departure from the norm.

Ordinary laborers appear in many of Hokusai's prints. Image courtesy of the Sackler Gallery.

“The Japanese print really focused on celebrities, on courtesans and kabuki actors,” explains Yonemura. “Hokusai’s work is different in that he does include ordinary people, peasants, people who are just doing hard labor.”

To Hokusai, ordinary people were not just passive subjects, but also possible artists. “He had this idea that anybody could draw,” Yonemura says. “So he did a bunch of illustrated painting manuals to teach amateur artists and artist wannabes and Hokusai wannabes how to do the ‘Hokusai’ method.” The Hokusai method meant training yourself, as Yonemura defines it, “to see the inner life force of something and capture it.”

As Hokusai himself put it, “At seventy-three, I began to grasp the structures of birds and beasts, insects and fish, and of the way plants grow. If I go on trying, I will surely understand them still better by the time I am eighty-six, so that by ninety I will have penetrated to their essential nature. At one hundred, I may well have a positively divine understanding of them, while at one hundred and thirty, forty, or more I will have reached the stage where every dot and every stroke I paint will be alive.”

“The Old Man Mad About Art,” as he called himself, never faltered in his dedication to this mission. ”36 Views” is still vibrantly alive even 150 years after his death at 88 in 1849. Long after sakoku ended, Hokusai’s influence on artists that came after him, Eastern and Western alike, remains strong. The Mt. Fuji prints are familiar all over the globe (“The Wave” seems to be required decoration for every college dorm room). Yet few people have ever seen the entire print series in one place. “This is the only time I have seen the series all at once,” Yonemura says. “It is an extremely rare opportunity. It’s probably once in a lifetime.”

“Hokusai: 36 Views of Mount Fuji” opens at the Sackler Gallery tomorrow, March 24 and will be on view through June 17. View the online exhibit here.

This gazelle-shaped wine horn, on view at the Sackler Gallery, was used to impress guests at elaborate Iranian feasts. Image courtesy of the Sackler Gallery.

In his play, The Acharnians, Aristophanes complained, ”And those pitiless Persian hosts! They compelled us to drink sweet wine, wine without water, from gold and glass cups.” Now, gold and glass cups like the ones that bothered the peevish Aristophanes are on display at the Sackler Gallery’s exhibition “Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran,” which showcases selections from founder Arthur M. Sackler’s original gift to the museum. Just in time for Nowruz, the Persian New Year on March 20, the exhibition looks at the roots of Iran’s traditions of celebration and feasting through luxury vessels from the 5th century BC to the 10th century AD.

“The written sources are relatively limited,” curator Massumeh Farhad explains. “As a result, these objects play an even more important role because they offer us insight into the history. We’re trying to really look at what these objects were, what they tell us about the culture, the people. Everything starts with the objects.”

As one of the earliest civilizations to start eating multi-course meals, Persians became renowned throughout the ancient world for their decadence and love of material wealth. Meals could sometimes last for days, with time set aside for drinking wine and listening to music after the dessert courses. During the feast itself, everyone ate in complete silence. “No conversation. It’s so contrary to our idea of eating,” Farhad says.

Kings would commission finely wrought gold and silver plates, wine horns, vases and bowls that would either be used at feasts or sent as gifts to other rulers. The abundance of gold and silver mines in the region paired with the intricate craftsmanship, technically and artistically sophisticated even by modern standards, created a distinct reputation for Iranian royalty. The point was to broadcast wealth and power to the entire world; some of these Iranian decorative plates have been found as far away as China.

“The ruler needs to project a certain image not only to his people but also beyond the borders,” Farhad says. “He makes the most lavish types of vessels, so when he invites people he can take these out, and everyone’s astounded. It’s seen as an extension of the king’s identity.”

For many years, the ancient Greeks were the most common of the kings’ guests. “The Greeks give us detailed descriptions of these royal banquets,” Farhad says. Often they would, as Aristophanes did, complain about the sumptuousness and excess. The philosopher Herodotus seemed taken aback at the differences between his hosts’ way of life and his own: “The main dishes at their meals are few, but they have many sorts of dessert, the various courses being served separately. It is this custom that has made them say that the Greeks leave the table hungry, because we never have anything worth mentioning after the first course: they think that if we did, we should go on eating.”

Using the Greek histories and the vessels themselves, according to Farhad, we can start to put together a picture of what life was like in the ancient Iranian courts. “They are some of the most remarkable objects even if you don’t know much about the history,” shed says. “I really like it when people look closely. You may not have the detailed information, but you can let the objects tell you the story.”

“Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran” is on view indefinitely at the Sackler Gallery.

Celebrate Debussy's 150th birthday with the Calefax Quintet. Image courtesy of Freer and Sackler Galleries.

Friday, March 2 Calefax Reed Quintet

The Dutch reed quintet Calefax, known for its unusual composition of clarinet, oboe, saxophone, bassoon and bass clarinet, celebrates the 150th birthday of composer Claude-Achille Debussy with unconventional arrangements of familiar works inspired by painters. Debussy’s work was strongly influenced by the art of James McNeill Whistler and Japanese prints, making the Freer Gallery, known for its Whistler and Japanese art collections, the perfect setting for the performance. In 2008, the London Times described the group as “extremely gifted Dutch gents who almost made the wind quintet seem the best musical format on the planet.” Free tickets required. 7:30 p.m. Meyer Auditorium, Freer Gallery.

Saturday, March 3 Women’s History Month

The kick-off celebration of Women’s History Month doubles as a Girl Scouts centennial party. Enjoy performances by the Girl Scouts and actress Mary Ann Jung, arts and crafts, a singalong, plus a vintage Girl Scouts fashion show. Free. 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. National Portrait Gallery.

Sunday, March 4 Nowruz

The Freer and Sackler Galleries are going all out for the Persian New Year with the 4th annual Nowruz celebration. Learn about Persian culture through contemporary dance performances, music, stories, animated films, and lots of games. Take a break from all the activity and try the traditional Persian food for sale by Moby Dick House of Kabob and Shiraz Market. Free. 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Freer and Sackler Galleries.

Smithsonian’s newest museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, will break ground with much fanfare. As announced yesterday, the February 22 groundbreaking ceremony on the National Mall will be emceed by actress and singer Phylicia Rashad, will feature former First Lady Laura Bush and will include remarks by President Barack Obama. The event will also feature musical performances by opera singer Denyce Graves, baritone Thomas Hampson, jazz pianist Jason Moran, the U.S. Navy Band and others.

The museum will be located 0n the National Mall on Constitution Avenue between 14th and 15th streets, between the American History Museum and the Washington Monument. Scheduled to open in 2015, the museum will be the only national museum devoted exclusively to African American life, art, history and culture. Plans first began in 2003, when Congress passed the National Museum of African American History and Culture Act. Since July 2005, when Lonnie Bunch was named the director, the museum has began collecting artifacts and producing exhibitions displayed in the American History Museum and elsewhere.

In April 2009, an official jury selected the design for the building, choosing David Adjaye’s bronze, multi-tiered structure. “The form of the building suggests a very upward mobility,” Adjaye said in a recent interview with Smithsonian. “For me, the story is one that’s extremely uplifting, as a kind of world story. It’s not a story of a people that were taken down, but actually a people that overcame.”

Of course, the National Mall is home to many Smithsonian Museums—and has hosted a number of groundbreaking ceremonies throughout the Institution’s history. We assembled a selection of shovel-at-the-ready images from the Smithsonian Institution Archives.

The groundbreaking for the Natural History Museum on June 15, 1904. Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

The Natural History Museum was originally constructed as the U.S. National Museum Building. Architects Joseph Coerten Hornblower and James Rush Marshall, Secretary Samuel P. Langley and Smithsonian employees looked on as the first shovel of dirt was lifted in 1904.

Solomon Brown, Smithsonian employee and poet, was present at the Natural History Museum groundbreaking in 1904. Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Solomon Brown worked at the Smithsonian for more than fifty years, from 1852 to 1906, and was likely the Institution’s first African-American employee, hired as a cabinetmaker soon after its founding in 1846. On the 100th anniversary of the groundbreaking, in June of 2004, a tree was planted in his name on the grounds of the National Museum of Natural History.

The 1916 groundbreaking for the Freer Gallery of Art. Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Geologist George P. Merrill and others gathered in 1916 to watch sod lifted for the Freer Gallery of Art, which was completed in 1923 to house railroad manufacturer Charles Lang Freer’s extensive collection of classical Asian art.

The 1972 groundbreaking for the Air and Space Museum. Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

In 1972, the Smithsonian secretary Dillon S. Ripley and Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger turn over the first shovelfuls of dirt for the Air and Space Museum. They were joined by Representative Kenneth Gray and Senators Jennings Randolph and J. William Fulbright. Before the building was constructed, the museum was known as the National Air Museum, and its artifacts were housed in a number of Smithsonian buildings.

Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, Vice President George Bush, and Secretary S. Dillon Ripley break ground on the Quadrangle Complex on June 21, 1983. Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

The Quadrangle complex was built behind the castle to house the National Museum of African Art, the Sackler Gallery of Asian Art, the S. Dillon Ripley Center and the Enid A. Haupt Garden. Then-vice president George Bush was on hand to supervise the groundbreaking in 1983.

Museum staff, director John Kinard and Smithsonian secretary Robert McCormick Adams break ground on the Anacostia Community Museum in 1985. Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

The Anacostia Community Museum was originally known as the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum, designed to reflect the history and traditions of families, organizations, individuals and communities, as well as serve the Anacostia Community. A groundbreaking ceremony in 1985 included the museum’s founding director John Kinard and then-Smithsonian secretary Robert McCormick Adams.

How much is the Hope Diamond worth? Ask Smithsonian.

Our inquisitive readers are rising to the challenge we gave them last month. The questions are pouring in and we’re ready for more. Do you have any questions for our curators? Submit your questions here.

How much is the Hope Diamond worth? — Marjorie Mathews, Silver Spring, Maryland

That’s the most popular question we get, but we don’t really satisfy people by giving them a number. There are a number of answers, but the best one is that we honestly don’t know. It’s a little bit like Liz Taylor’s jewels being sold in December—all kinds of people guessed at what they would sell for, but everybody I know was way off. Only when those pieces were opened up to bidding at a public auction could you find out what their values were. When they were sold, then at least for that day and that night you could say, well, they were worth that much. The Hope Diamond is kind of the same way, but more so. There’s simply nothing else like it. So how do you put a value on the history, on the fact it’s been here on display for over 50 years and a few hundred million people have seen it, and on that fact it’s a rare blue diamond on top of everything else? You don’t. – Jeffrey E. Post, mineralogist, National Museum of Natural History

What’s the worst impact of ocean acidification so far?- Nancy Schaefer, Virginia Beach, Virginia

The impacts of ocean acidification are really just starting to be felt, but two big reports that came out in 2011 show that it could have very serious effects on coral reefs. These studies did not measure the warming effect of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but rather its effect of making the ocean more acidic when it dissolves in the ocean. Places where large amounts of carbon dioxide seep into the water from the sea floor provide a natural experiment and show us how ocean waters might look, say, 50 or 100 years from now. Both studies showed branching, lacy, delicate coral forms are likely to disappear, and with them that kind of three-dimensional complexity so many species depend on. Also, other species that build a stony skeleton or shell, such as oysters or mussels, are likely to be affected. This happens because acidification makes carbonate ions, which these species need for their skeletons, less abundant.

Nancy Knowlton, marine biologist
National Museum of Natural History

Art and artifacts from ancient South Pacific and Pacific Northwest tribes have similarities in form and function. Is it possible that early Hawaiians caught part of the Kuroshio Current of the North Pacific Gyre to end up along the northwest coast of America from northern California to Alaska? — April Amy Croan, Maple Valley, Washington

Those similarities have given rise to various theories, including trans-Pacific navigation, independent drifts of floating artifacts, inadvertent crossings by ships that have lost their rudders or rigging, or whales harpooned in one area that died or were captured in a distant place. Some connections are well-known, like feather garment fragments found in an archaeological site in Southeast Alaska that appear to have been brought there by whaling ships that had stopped in the Hawaiian Islands, a regular route for 19th-century whalers. Before the period of European contact, the greatest similarities are with the southwest Pacific, not Hawaii. The Kushiro current would have facilitated Asian coastal contacts with northwestern North America, but would not have helped Hawaiians. The problem of identification is one of context, form and dating. Most of the reported similarities are either out of their original context (which can’t be reconstructed), or their form is not specific enough to relate to another area’s style, or the date of creation cannot be established. To date there is no acceptable proof for South Pacific-Northwest Coast historical connections that predates the European whaling era, except for links that follow the coastal region of the North Pacific into Alaska.

William Fitzhugh, archeologist
Natural History Museum