Jordan Cleek July 4th, 2013

Katsushika Hokusai: The Great Wave off Kanagawa Katsushika Hokusai was born in modern day Tokyo and is considered one of the outstanding figures of Ukiyo-e. Ukiyo-e was a technique of woodcuts developed by the Japanese. It consisted of teamwork with an artist creating the image, and a carver gluing the image face down and proceed to cut away everything expect the lines the artist created. The prints could then be printed on different quality papers and sold to the masses and in mass quantity. Hokusai began his work apprenticing at Katsukawa Shunshos studio and, ultimately, produced tens of thousands of prints and paintings. His most famous piece is The Great Wave off Kanagawa. In fact it has become a modern icon. This piece depicts Mount Fuji as a tranquil little ant hill off in the distance as a monstrous upsurge engulfes helpless boats (the British Museum). The print like much of Asian art of this time had simple lines. Almost everything during this era, from the fusuma panels in the architecture to the stylized paintings on the porcelain, was simply rendered. People of the time were not concerned with capturing volume and light, they were more stuck by the idea of what was happening. The print used two alternating blues to express the ferociousness of the water, and an unassuming grey background in order to not take precedence over the wave. Actually, the was the form in the piece to have an sort of shadow or hue differential. Therefore, the viewer is stuck there having to take in the whole wave at once and realize the fate of the ships.

Jordan Cleek July 4th, 2013

The Work

The Great Wave Off Kanagawa Ukiyo-e 18291832

Works Cited
"Hokusai, Katsushika." WebMuseum:. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 July 2013. "Hokusai: Japanese Artist - EnchantedLearning.com." Hokusai: Japanese Artist EnchantedLearning.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 July 2013. "Hokusai's The Great Wave." British Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 July 2013.