The Great Wave off Kanagawa: The Wave and Mount Fuji
Interpretation Date: 2026-10-10
Artwork Information
1830[-]33
![Under the Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai, 1830[-]33](https://www.thequadro.com/api/storage/artworks/thumb/l/katsushika-hokusai/katsushika-hokusai_thirty-six-views-of-mount-fuji_under-the-wave-off-kanagawa_7b07864e)
Hokusai’s masterpiece captures a terrifyingly beautiful moment where nature dwarfs humanity. A massive, claw-like wave dominates the scene, threatening to crush three fragile fishing boats, while a tiny, snow-capped Mount Fuji sits calmly in the background, completely ignoring the chaos. Created around 1831 as part of the 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji' series, this print became an instant sensation in Japan and later influenced Impressionist painters in Europe. The striking blue comes from 'Prussian Blue,' a synthetic pigment that was a trendy import from Europe at the time.
- Technique
- Woodblock print (Ukiyo-e)
- Material
- Ink and color on paper
Interpretation Content
On the anniversary of Katsushika Hokusai's death (October 10), we return to "Under the Wave off Kanagawa" in remembrance. Created around 1831 as part of the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, the print belongs to the final and most brilliant phase of Hokusai's career. Then in his seventies and calling himself "the old man mad about painting," he used the woodblock print — a popular commercial medium — to probe the relationship between nature and humankind.
In the image, a towering wave curls into claws above three fast boats carrying fresh fish; the crews crouch low in the troughs, tiny and vulnerable. Far in the distance, the snow-capped summit of Mount Fuji sits small and perfectly still, setting up a stark opposition between movement and stillness, violence and eternity. The deep blue is Prussian blue, a synthetic pigment newly imported from Europe at the time, and it gives the sea its extraordinary tension.
The series was first published with thirty-six views and later expanded by ten, making forty-six prints in all. Taking Mount Fuji as its axis, it records the seasons, the weather and every variety of human life. This print is the most celebrated of them all, transforming ukiyo-e from an urban commodity into a classic of world art.
Its afterlife is immense: it inspired Van Gogh, Monet and other Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters, and prompted Debussy's La Mer. Its composition and visual language have seeped into modern design, cinema, animation and global popular culture, making it an enduring emblem of Japanese art.