Ukiyo-e · c. 1830-1832
The Great Wave off Kanagawa
Three boats face a cresting wall of water while Mount Fuji waits in the distance. Hokusai made danger, work and stillness share one small print.
- Made
- c. 1830-1832
- Style
- Ukiyo-e
- Collection
- Impressions held by museums worldwide
From museum to game table
The in-game crop
The card adds paint spaces, rewards and a frame. This crop shows the artwork area used during play, without the card rails.
The short history
What happened here?
The print opened Hokusai's series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. It was made with carved woodblocks and printed in color. Many impressions were produced, which helped the image travel far beyond Japan.
The wave dominates at first glance. Look again and Mount Fuji repeats its triangular shape in the distance. The fishermen lean into long boats built to carry fresh fish quickly across Edo Bay.
Hokusai used imported Prussian blue, a strong new pigment in Japan. The print later reached Europe and fed the nineteenth-century taste for Japanese art. Its compact design still feels startlingly modern.
Look closer
Three details worth finding
- 1Claw-like tips at the wave's crest
- 2Mount Fuji framed by the breaking water
- 3The rowers folded low inside the boats
Sources
Read further
Museum records come first. Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons provide useful public background and image records.