The Voice of Autumn at Choko, from the series Eight Views of the Ryukyu Islands

Hokusai based his Eight Views of the Ryūkyū Islands series on illustrations from a Chinese book but made significant artistic changes. While maintaining basic compositions and locations, he added color, ships, and modified architecture. He also altered geographic features, making landmasses appear smaller and more divided by water than they actually were. The prints allowed Japanese viewers to mentally travel to places they had never seen, though this connection was based on idealization and sometimes imagination rather than accurate representation of the landscape and culture of the Ryūkyūs.