Hokusai's "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" is one of the most famous artworks in the world. As an outstanding example of ukiyo-e, a genre of Japanese woodblock prints, this piece has inspired artists and observers for nearly 200 years. While the image of the Great Wave is instantly recognizable, many people are unaware of its rich history and deep significance.
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"The Great Wave off Kanagawa" is a yoko-e (a horizontal landscape format) woodblock print created by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai during the Edo period (1603 to 1868). It is the first piece in his series "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji," which depicts Japan's highest peak from various perspectives.
In this iconic print, Mount Fuji is seen from the sea, framed by a towering rogue wave. The wave, with its foamy crest, looms menacingly over fishermen and their boats. This dramatic swell dominates the composition, overshadowing both the mountain and the vessels, hence the title "The Great Wave."
Due to its immense popularity, "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" has been reproduced in numerous forms, from calligraphy and simple illustrations to other woodcuts. Collectors eagerly acquire these derivative products, highlighting the enduring appeal of Hokusai's masterpiece.
The most striking element of the print is the massive wave, poised to break with a powerful, claw-like crest. Hokusai used a beautiful dark blue pigment known as "Prussian blue," a novel material at the time, imported from England via China. The wave's overwhelming force seems to symbolize the formidable power of nature and the frailty of human beings.
Prussian blue
Hokusai used geometric principles to compose the interplay between the gigantic wave and the distant Mount Fuji. Jocelyn Bouquillard, curator at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, has explored Hokusai's development as an artist, his technical mastery, and his creative process in the book Mount Fuji: The Complete Views in Colour. The book details how Japanese culture and historical events influenced Hokusai's work, as well as how he was perceived internationally, particularly by the Western art world.
The relatively small woodcut, measuring 39 cm by 26 cm, juxtaposes two contrasting aspects of existence. The tumultuous wave in the foreground and the tranquil Mount Fuji in the background are not only used to create a sense of depth—a technique influenced by European art—but also to represent life's unpredictability. Mount Fuji, in contrast, symbolizes constancy and eternity, embodying Japan's sacred and cultural identity.
Katsushika Hokusai
Born in 1760 in Edo (now Tokyo), Japan, Katsushika Hokusai was one of the great artists of the Edo period, alongside figures like Utagawa Hiroshige, another renowned draftsman, engraver, and painter. Throughout his life, Hokusai went by many names, but he is most famously known as Hokusai.
Hokusai encountered Western engravings through Dutch traders and became fascinated with linear perspective. He adapted these techniques, creating a Japanese variant of linear perspective. The influence of Dutch art is also evident in his use of a low horizon line and the distinct European pigment, Prussian blue.
Hokusai was particularly interested in exploring oblique angles and contrasts—between near and far, artificial and natural. This is evident in "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," where the large wave in the foreground dwarfs the distant Mount Fuji, and the inclusion of men and boats emphasizes the power of nature against human endeavors. It is a very distinct characteristic of the painting “Fine Wind, Clear Morning,” also known as “South Wind, Clear Sky or Red Fuji” below:
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Source:
Abrams, Harry N.; Mount Fuji: The Complete Views in Colour; ISBN-13: 978-0810993402