How Much Is A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces (complete series) Worth?

Hokusai's Shokoku taki meguri is a focused landscape cycle that showcases his mature engagement with natural motifs, especially waterfalls, and stands within his broader landscape production. While it does not carry the same mainstream name recognition as Thirty-six Views or The Great Wave, the series is well regarded by curators and collectors of ukiyo-e and appears in major museum collections in single-sheet and occasional complete-set forms. The series' thematic unity and representation of Hokusai's later stylistic concerns make complete sets more desirable than disconnected single sheets for institutional buyers and advanced private collectors, producing a tangible premium for complete, well-preserved sets.

Impression state and printing quality are the most determinative technical factors. First-state impressions and those with original, untouched pigments, fine bokashi gradations, and mica highlights command outsized premiums relative to later reprints. Matching state across all eight sheets is critical: a uniform set of first-state impressions is worth substantially more than a mixed-state combination. Publisher and censor seals, clear signature impressions, and paper quality (thickness, fiber, watermark if present) also materially affect marketability and price. Accurate state identification and documentation are therefore central to valuation.

Physical condition drives percentage adjustments to any base comparable. Common negative factors include heavy backing, pasted repairs, significant foxing, staining, losses or tears, and trimmed margins that remove key signatures or seals. Even minor localized restoration can depress value for high-end buyers, while unbacked, supple paper with original margins and minimal restoration retains maximum market value. Uniform condition across the eight prints reduces buyer uncertainty and supports higher prices; inconsistent condition across sheets usually forces a discount relative to top comparables.

Documented provenance, especially institutional ownership, museum exhibition history, or inclusion in authoritative catalogues raisonnés, substantially elevates value and buyer confidence. Single-owner museum dispersals and well-documented private collections have produced premium bids in the Hokusai market historically. Conversely, anonymous or undocumented sets can trade at a meaningful discount. Provenance also affects the marketing channel: museum-quality provenances increase the likelihood of sale at major houses and attract institutional buyers, which can be decisive when realising a set near the top of the estimated range.