Kanagawa oki nami ura

Katsushika Hokusai was a Japanese painter and one of the most important representatives of the ukiyo-e genre. Ukiyo-e is a collective term for a genre of Japanese painting and printmaking (illustrated books and colour woodblock prints) that reflects the attitude to life and world view of the emerging bourgeoisie and the broad majority of the population in the major cities of Japan, particularly in Edo (Tokyo), during the Edo period.

Hokusai was born in Edo, today's Tokyo, his parents are unknown. At the age of three, he was adopted by Nakajimi Ise, a mirror maker for the court of the Shogun. Hokusai's adoptive name is Nakajima Tokitarou. Katsushika Hokusai began an apprenticeship as a block carver at the age of 15.

Having already gained some experience as a wood engraver, he began working at the age of 18 in the art workshop of the ukiyo-e master Katsukawa Shunshou from the Katsukawa school, a painter and draughtsman of colour woodcuts. Hokusai's first works in 1979 were portraits of famous actors. From 1779 to 1794 he was active under the name Katsukawa Shunrou. During this time, he also took lessons from another master, Yusen of the Kanou school. He studied Western painting, which is recognisable in some of his prints. It was not until 1793, after the death of his master Shunshou, that Hokusai left the workshop.

Hokusai then travelled through Japan, frequently changing his teachers and schools as well as his name, as was customary in Japanese artistic circles. The names often corresponded to the respective stage of his artistic development. In the almost 90 years of his life, Hokusai used 30 names, including Gakyojin, which can be translated as ‘crazy about painting’ and refers to his productive phase. Hokusai published his first book in 1782, which was filled with his own illustrations.

The artist suffered many setbacks in his private life. His first wife died in 1793, leaving him with two daughters and a son. He married again in 1997. His eldest son died in 1812. His two daughters had an unhappy marriage, divorced and returned to Hokusai's household. Hokusai adopted the son of his eldest daughter. The artist's second wife died in 1828.

It was not until 1798 that he took on his own students and taught them the art of woodblock printing and drawing. From this point onwards, he drew under the name Katsushika Hokusai, which he is still known by today.

During his seventy-year career, he created a remarkable oeuvre of around 3000 colour prints, illustrations for over 200 books, hundreds of drawings and over 1000 paintings.

The colour woodblock prints of the series ‘36 Views of Mount Fuji’, which actually comprises 46 prints, include his most famous works such as Kanagawa oki nami ura (1831). Hokusai is considered one of the most important painters in the history of art; he introduced landscapes into the ukiyo-e style and produced the first woodblock print series consisting exclusively of landscape motifs. He spent his entire life developing his artistic skills. He wrote in the foreword to one of his books:

‘Since the age of six I have felt the urge to sketch the shapes of things. Towards the age of fifty, I published a myriad of drawings, but I am dissatisfied with everything I created before the age of seventy. Only at the age of 73 will I have approximately grasped the true form and nature of birds, fish and plants, so at the age of 80 I will still have made great progress; at 90 I will have penetrated into the essence of all things; at 100 I will certainly have risen to a higher, indescribable state, and when I have reached 110, everything, every point, every line will become life. I invite those who will live as long as I do to see for themselves whether I will keep my word. - Written at the age of 75, by me, once Hokusai, now called Gouakiyo-Rôdjin, the old man infatuated with the mark.’

Katsushika Hokusai

At the end of his life, he proudly described himself as a ‘farm labourer’. On his deathbed, he is said to have said:

‘If heaven had given me another five years, I would have become a great painter.’

Katsushika Hokusai

Katsushika Hokusai died on 10 May 1849 in Henjouin, Shouten-chou, Asakusa, and his tomb can be found in the cemetery of Tokyo's Taitou district.

As is customary in Japan, the family name comes before the given name in this text. Thus, Katsushika is the family name, and Hokusai is the given name.