Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave)
神奈川沖浪裏 · Kanagawa oki nami ura
Katsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32
What it is
The most famous image in Japanese art: the great wave rearing over three oshiokuri delivery boats, Mount Fuji small and calm in the trough.
Why it matters
Printed in the newly imported Prussian blue that transformed the medium, it crossed the ocean and bent Western art — Monet collected it; Debussy set La Mer beneath it.
What to notice
The foam breaks into claws; the wave's curve repeats the mountain's silhouette — Fuji hides inside its own storm.
"The wave rises and falls. The mountain remains."
The record
- Artist
- Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760–1849)
- Series
- Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
- Date
- c. 1830–32
- Publisher
- Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudō)
- Medium
- woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Source
- The Art Institute of Chicago · 1925.3245
Impression note. The blocks were reprinted heavily to meet demand: early impressions show a well-inked grey outline around the title cartouche and a soft pink in the sky that later printings lose. A fine impression keeps the foam's claw-lines unbroken. Impression variance is real — printings differ in wiping and fading — and choosing the finest openly held impression is the curatorial act.
Public domain; faithfully reproduced.
Bring it home
Printed to order on EMA matte art paper, 200gsm.
From the same series
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)Fine Wind, Clear Morning (Red Fuji)Katsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)Thunderstorm Beneath the SummitKatsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)Kajikazawa in Kai ProvinceKatsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)Ejiri in Suruga ProvinceKatsushika Hokusai · c. 1830–32The road at your moment — Painted Earth’s ukiyo-e style pack.