Towards the end of his life, Hokusai began to draw many large cats. Between 1842 and 1843 Hokusai painted a
shishi lion every day as a talisman against bad luck in a practice he called
nisshin joma, or "daily exorcisms". In his final years, tigers became a subject matter to which he returned several times. In the painting the ground is invisible and the tiger seems to float through the snow-filled air. The snow-covered bamboo fronds echo the claws of the tiger. His fur is rendered with wavy lines, a sinuous effect more in keeping with a snake or dragon. The tiger's expression has been variously described as a smile or a snarl, the tiger himself appears joyful, amused, and "royally pleased with himself". The signed inscription reads: "Month of the Tiger, Year of the Cock, old Manji, the old man mad about painting, at the age of ninety". The work, possibly his last painting, was done just a few months before his death aged eighty-nine by Western reckoning. It shows that even in his old age, Hokusai's powers remained undiminished. ==Art market==