Who created the woodblock print 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa'?

Katsushika Hokusai created the woodblock print The Great Wave off Kanagawa. He designed it around 1831 as part of the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.

The print shows three boats threatened by a towering, curling wave, with Mount Fuji appearing in the distance. Its dramatic composition contrasts the fragile human vessels with the mountain’s calm, triangular form. Although often called simply The Great Wave, its Japanese title refers to the view from the sea off Kanagawa.

Hokusai used imported Prussian blue, a relatively new and fade-resistant pigment in Japan, alongside traditional indigo. The color helped give the series a striking visual identity and contributed to what is sometimes called the “blue revolution” in Japanese ukiyo-e printing.

Hiroshige, Kuniyoshi, and Utamaro were also major Japanese artists, but they did not create this particular print. Hokusai’s work later influenced European artists during the rise of Japonisme, including Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, and composer Claude Debussy.