Fish Seller
c. 1811[-]1820
![Fish Seller by Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1811[-]1820](https://www.thequadro.com/api/storage/artworks/thumb/l/katsushika-hokusai/katsushika-hokusai_fish-seller_ba3d6e47)
Hokusai captures a quiet moment of daily labor here, showing a fishmonger intently scaling a large catch in a woven basket. The fluid, confident lines suggest this is a page from his famous 'Hokusai Manga' sketchbooks, which served as visual encyclopedias of everyday life in Edo-period Japan. Unlike his dramatic crashing waves, this piece celebrates the mundane, proving that even a guy cleaning fish was worthy of a master's attention. These illustrations were originally intended as study material for other artists but became bestsellers themselves.