Also Known as Under the Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai
One of the most famous Japanese woodblock prints is the timeless woodblock by the Japanese artist Hokusai known as The Great Wave Off Kanagawa or simply The Great Wave. The woodblock print continues to be an iconic and influential art piece.
The Japanese artist Hokusai produced The Great Wave Off Kanagawa woodblock print as part of his series called Thirty-six Views. The Great Wave off Kanagawa features a huge wave, a small Mount Fuji in the background, and three boats getting caught in the large wave. This print has remained so popular that it inspired music, poetry, and even a present-day emoji.
Table of Contents
- Japanese Artist Katsushika Hokusai
- The Great Wave Off Kanagawa Woodblock
- Other Artistic Inspirations From The Great Wave Off Kanagawa
- The Wave Emoji Of The Great Wave Off Kanagawa
- Related Questions
Check out Our Art Series Short Stories – The Great Wave Off Kanagawa by Hokusai.
Japanese Artist Katsushika Hokusai
The Japanese artist Hokusai’s full name is Katsushika Hokusai, but he was simply known as Hokusai. He was born in 1790 in Edo, which is present-day Tokyo. Hokusai had a very long and varied career, but he produced most of his important work after he was 60 years old. He lived to be 88 years old, so his artistic career spanned over seven decades.
Hokusai was a Japanese painter and printmaker. His best-known work is the Thirty-Six Views, which includes his iconic woodblock print known as The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
He created the Thirty-Six Views in response to a domestic travel boom and due in part to his own personal obsession with Mount Fuji. This series of the Thiry-Six Views helped to ensure his fame, especially for his The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, and Fine Wind, Clear Morning (Red Fuji) woodblock prints.
Through his work with the Thirty-Six Views, Hokusai became well known not just in Japan but also overseas. As the historian and collector of Japanese art Richard Lane said when speaking of the print series of Thirty-Six Views, he said:
“If there is one work that made Hokusai’s name, both in Japan and abroad, it must be this monumental print-series”.
Richard Lane
The Great Wave Off Kanagawa Woodblock
The Great Wave off Kanagawa, is also known as The Great Wave, The Wave, or Under the Wave off Kanagawa is an iconic Japanese woodblock print. The Great Wave Off Kanagawa was published sometime between 1829 and 1833 or in what is known as the Edo period of Japan.
The Edo period or the Tokugawa period in Japan is from 1603 to 1868. This period in Japan’s history was known for its economic growth, strict social order, isolationism foreign policies, and stability It was an era where the arts and culture of Japan were able to flourish.
The Great Wave Wood Off Kanagawa woodblock print is the first print in Hokusai’s series called Thirty-Six Views. It is one of the most famous works of Japanese art in the world.
About the Wave, Boats and Mountains of The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.
In The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, you can see the top of Mount Fuji in the background as this enormous wave is towering over it. The wave is threatening three small fishing boats off the coastal town of Kanagawa, which is present-day Yokohama. Some have said that Hokusai was painting a tsunami wave, but it is more likely that it was a very large rogue wave.
The three boats are actually oshiokuri-bune, which are fast boats that were used to transport fish and other things. The fact that Hokasuai used the fast fishing boats of the time, gives additional emphasis on how big the wave was against these fast fishing boats.
There are eight rowers in each of the boats and then two more passengers at the front of the boat. This means there were a total of 30 people in these boats out there riding this large wave.
The sea is the dominant theme in The Great Wave Off Kanagawa woodblock print. At the exact moment in time that Hokasuai caught the big rogue wave it was framed perfectly with Mount Fuji in the center of the wave in the background. When using the boats as a reference we can approximate the size of the rogue wave to be 10 to 12 meters tall.
Listen To Our Podcast About The Bohemian Japanese Woodblock Print Artist – Hokusai
The Prussian Blue Ink and Woodblock Technique Used In The Great Wave Off Kanagawa
The Great Wave Off Kanagawa woodblock print uses the Prussian blue color, which is also known as Berlin blue, Parisian, Paris Blue, or Turnbull’s blue. It is a dark blue pigment. It was used in what is known as Aizuri-e, which is a Japanese term that refers to the Japanese woodblock prints that are printed almost entirely or predominantly in blue.
In speaking of The Great Wave Off Kanagawa the Metropolitan Museum of Art has said this about the uniqueness of the blues and inks used for The Great Wave Off Kanagawa art woodblock:
“At the time this print was produced, there was a demand for Berlin blue—popularly known as ‘Prussian blue’—imported from Europe. Scientific analysis has since revealed that both Prussian blue and traditional indigo were used in ‘the Great Wave’ to create subtle gradations in the coloring of this dramatic composition.“
Metropolitan Museum of Art
One of the most important aspects of the woodblock print artwork was that the image had to be mirrored when carving on the wood. This meant that the artist when carving the woodblock would have had to work in such a way to remember to mirror the images, especially if they were including any text to the art.
When actually carving the woodblock print in the traditional Japanese style, the artist would first draw the image they wanted to carve onto washi paper. Washi paper is a very thin yet durable type of Japanese paper that is made from the inner bark of the mulberry tree. The washi paper would be glued to the block of wood. By using the outline of what they have drawn on the washi paper as a guide, the artist would carve the design onto the woodblock.
Other Artistic Inspirations From The Great Wave Off Kanagawa
Two of the most notable inspirations that have come from Hokusai’s The Great Wave Off Kanagawa woodblock print is the musical work by Debussy called La Mer or The Sea and literary work by Rilke’s, known as Der Berg or The Mountian.
La Mer (The Sea), A Musical Composition By Debussy.
The sea, or Le Mer, is an orchestral composition by the French composer Claude Debussy. The composition was composed between 1903 and 1905, with its premiere in Paris in 1905.
It was said that Debussy was inspired by Hokusai woodblock of The Great Wave Off Kanagawa. A version of The Great Wave Off Kanagawa was on the cover of his 1905 score of the Le Mer or The Sea musical composition.
Der Berg (The Mountain) by Poet Rainer Maria Rilke
The Bohemian- Austrian poet and novelist were also inspired by Hokusai’s The Great Wave Off Kanagawa woodblock print. He is said to have been so taken by the woodblock print that he wrote a poem for it called Der Berg or The Mountain.
As Hokusai’s woodblock print The Great Wave Off Kanagawa had inspired both a composer (Debussy) and the writer (Rilke), this helped ensure that the woodblock print would remain an iconic Japanese woodblock print of the art world.
The Wave Emoji Of The Great Wave Off Kanagawa
The Great Wave Off Kanagawa is so popular and so well known that even today it has its own emoji. The emoji is known as the wave that was approved as Unicode 6.0 and added as an emoji in 2015.
The Wave Emoji is also known as the beach, ocean, waves, sea, and waves. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, JoyPixels, OPenMoji, Emojidex, Messenger, LG, HTC, Mozilla, SoftBank, Docomo, and Au by KDDI all have some version of the Wave. But the Apple emoji, known as the wave resembles the Japanese Artist Hokusai’s The Great Wave Off Kanagawa woodblock print the closest.
The Great Wave Off Kanagawa woodblock print is an iconic Japanese artwork that has inspired many artists. It is fair to say that The Great Wave Off Kanagawa woodblock print is the most popular Japanese woodblock print ever created.
Related Questions
Who Was the Mexican Artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)?
Frida Kahlo is one of Mexico’s most well-known and premier artists. She suffered from polio and was in a bus accident that left her with a lot of pain and suffering. Kahlo married the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera. She is well known for her self-portraits that depict pain and suffering, but her artwork is also filled with passion and bright bold vibrant colors. Her art is a personal statement of her life, paint, and culture of Mexico.
To discover more about Frida Kahlo you can read our blog on Who Was the Mexican Artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)? by clicking here.
Who is the Swedish Artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944)?
Hilma af Klint was a Swedish woman artist who was painting trailblazing modern artwork for her time. A revolutionary, creative figure she kept her art and paintings secret for many years. Despite her amazing works of art and legacy she left us, it has only been during the last 40 years that she has started to gain worldwide acclaim.
You can discover more about HIlma af Klint by reading our blog Who is the Swedish Artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944)? by clicking here.
