Tracing the Impact of Hokusai's Great Wave at the Latest Tokyo Exhibition

On July 4, the Bank of Japan issued new banknote designs for the first time in 20 years. The reverse side of the 1,000 yen note depicts Katsushika Hokusai's Under the Wave off Kanagawa,. Also known as The Great Wave off Kanagawa, it is one of the most recognizable and reproduced artistic images of all time. 

Accordingly, the Sumida Hokusai Museum is holding an exhibition on the ukiyo-e woodblock print more commonly referred to as Hokusai's Great Wave. The exhibition is titled The Impact of Hokusai's Great Wave: Under the Wave off Kanagawa — Tracing its Origins and Trajectory. It will run in two terms from June 18 until August 25. Term one is from June 18 to July 21. The second term will be from July 23 to August 25.

The Great Wave

The image was produced in 1831 when Hokusai was aged 71. It is the first in his iconic series, The Thirty-six Views of Mt Fuji. The image depicts three boats moving through a violent sea. A large wave crests over the boats from the left. A snow-capped Mt Fuji appears in the background. The great wave typically evokes a monster displaying its claws. 

The boats are oshiokuri-bune: fast barges that were used to transport live fish to the markets of Edo (Tokyo). Oshiokuri-bune were generally between 12 and 15 meters long, allowing for an estimation of the size of the wave at an imposing 10 to 12 meters high. 

The image is renowned for the sense of balance within the composition. To Vincent van Gogh, however, the legendary Dutch impressionist and a great admirer of Hokusai, it possessed a "terrifying" emotional quality. Perhaps Van Gogh was viewing the print from the viewpoint of the boatmen, most of whom were surely about to die. 

There is a uniformity in the depiction of the boatmen, made inevitable by the size of the work and limitations of the woodblock printing method. They do not exhibit a strong sense of humanity. They are stage props in the drama on display. 

Technology and Technique

The exhibition traces the developments in artist technique, technology, and Hokusai's own skill, that enabled the print to be produced. It begins by crediting a greater appreciation of linear perspective to a 1720 decision by Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune to ease restrictions on the importation of Western books. The Edo era (1603-1858) was characterized by sakoku, a policy of isolation from foreign contact. Western, Chinese, and Korean influences, however, were able to make their way into Japan through the Dutch Trading post of Dejima in Nagasaki. In the case of linear perspective, the influence of these literary imports was large.

A further dominant foreign influence was the importation of a dark blue pigment named Prussian Blue. It began to be imported from Holland in 1820 and was available in significant quantity by 1829. Hokusai used Prussian Blue extensively when creating Under the Wave off Kanagawa. 

The Great Wave's origins 

Section 2 of the exhibition is entitled, Birth of the Great Wave: Where Did this Wave Come From? It features former attempts by Hokusai to depict waves. An initial example is Spring at Enoshima, from the Branches of the Willow Tree produced in 1797 when Hokusai was aged 37. It shows an unusual high shore break about to menace a group of beachgoers paying insufficient attention to the action of the waves. 

Another is Honmoku off the Coast of Kanagawa, in which a sailing vessel appears in danger of being both engulfed and driven onto the shore. It was produced in 1803 when Hokusai was 43. In addition to displaying simplistic depictions of wave foam, these two images highlight the impact of the availability of the Prussian Blue pigment on Under the Wave off Kanagawa. Both images have a brownish, rather than blue hue. 

Immediate and Long-Term Influence and Appeal

Section 3 deals with the influence of Under the Wave off Kanagawa. It is divided into two parts: Ripple Effect on Painters and Other Artists, and Post-Hokusai and Ripple Effect on Product Design. The impact of the Great Wave on Hokusai's contemporaries was immediate and substantial. In The Sea at Satta in Suruga Province, from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, produced in 1859 by acclaimed ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige, the influence of Hokusai on the depiction of wave action is unmistakable.

A piece of contemporary art that exploits the Great Wave motif is Fuji as the Sun Sees It from the series Nearly Thirty-six Somewhat Ridiculous Views of Mount Fuji by Shiriagari Kotobuki. It was produced a mere three years ago, in 2021, and is one of many examples of the impact of Under the Wave off Kanagawa upon popular culture. 

When turning to the impact of Under the Wave off Kanagawa on product design, the examples are many and varied. They include stamps, playing cards, lottery tickets, placemats and coasters, beer cans, and potato chip packets. The emoji for wave water, designed by Apple, strongly resembles it. 

A Ubiquitous Image

While walking around the streets of Japanese cities, with a conscious awareness of the Great Wave motif, you will find reminders everywhere. It is on T-shirts and shopfronts and incorporated into all manner of popular culture. The shop front window below clearly references Under the Wave off Kanagawa. It is one that I had previously walked past countless times without ever having consciously noted. 

The ultimate validation of the Under the Wave off Kanagawa print, however, must surely be the decision by the Bank of Japan to place it upon its 1,000 yen bill. The current note features Mt Fuji itself. To be judged worthy of replacing Japan's most sacred mountain is quite an affirmation. 

Around 100 prints of Under the Waves off Kanagawa are known to exist. The present exhibition is a rare chance to view one of the most well-preserved prints, and to gain a full appreciation of how an iconic artistic work came into being. 

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Author: Paul de Vries

Paul de Vries is an Australian writer and educator based in Japan.