Which Japanese artist is famous for 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa'?

Katsushika Hokusai created “The Great Wave off Kanagawa.” The famous image is a Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print made around 1831, showing three boats threatened by a towering wave with Mount Fuji visible in the background.

The print was part of Hokusai’s series “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji,” which ultimately contained 46 designs. Although Fuji is small in the composition, its calm, snow-capped form contrasts dramatically with the curling wave and storm-tossed sea. The work’s title can be translated from its Japanese inscription as “Under the Wave off Kanagawa.”

Hokusai’s use of imported Prussian blue helped give the print its striking color. Like other ukiyo-e works, it was produced through a collaborative process involving a designer, woodblock carvers, and printers, allowing multiple impressions to circulate rather than creating one unique painted canvas.

A frequent mistake is attributing the print to Utagawa Hiroshige, another major Edo-period landscape artist. Hiroshige was influenced by Hokusai, but “The Great Wave” is Hokusai’s work. The print later became important to Japonisme and influenced Western artists and composers, including Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Claude Debussy.