"The Great Wave at Kanagawa" (from a Series of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji) by Katsushika Hokusai. Color woodcut, 10 × 15 inches; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) (1760-1849) was an Edo period Japanese artist, painter, wood engraver and ukiyo-e maker, born in Edo (now Tokyo). Author of the 13-volume sketchbook Hokusai manga (begun in 1814) and the block prints "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji," (created around 1823-1829), which includes "The Great Wave at Kanagawa." He is considered one of the outstanding figures of the Ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating world" (everyday life), school of printmaking. Hokusai is also renowned for his erotic prints in shunga style. His "Fukujusô", a series of twelve prints celebrating the glory of flesh and passion, is considered one of the three greatest shunga works. His art was an important source of inspiration for many European impressionists like Claude Monet. A woodcut is a method of printing in which an image is carved into the surface of a piece of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with chisels. ... There is also the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), located in Manhattan. ... Events January 9 - Afghans defeat Marathas in Battle of Barari Ghat. ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... History of Japan Paleolithic Jomon Yayoi Yamato period ---Kofun period ---Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Muromachi period Azuchi-Momoyama period ---Nanban period Edo period Meiji period Taisho period Showa period ---Japanese expansionism ---Occupied Japan ---Post-Occupation Japan Heisei The Edo period (江戸時代) is a division of Japanese... Official language Japanese Capital Tokyo Largest City Tokyo Emperor Akihito Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 60th 377,835 km² 0. ... An artist is someone who employs creative talent to produce works of art. ... For the computer graphics program, see Corel Painter. ... Wood engraving is, simply, the art of engraving, using the medium of wood. ... Ukiyo-e (浮世絵, a Japanese term meaning pictures of the floating world) is a style of painting, but is more commonly associated with a type of woodcut printmaking that became popular in Japan in the 18th and 19th centuries. ... DRAM is a type of random access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor. ... Tokyo (東京; Tōkyō  listen, literally eastern capital), is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu in Japan. ... 1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Ukiyo-e (浮世絵, a Japanese term meaning pictures of the floating world) is a style of painting, but is more commonly associated with a type of woodcut printmaking that became popular in Japan in the 18th and 19th centuries. ... Printmaking is a process for producing a work of art in ink; the work (called a print) is created indirectly, through the transfer of ink from the surface upon which the work was originally drawn or otherwise composed. ... Shunga (春画)(lit. ... Impressionism was a 19th century art movement, that began as a private association of Paris-based artists who began publicly exhibiting their art in the 1860s. ... Oscar-Claude Monet (November 14, 1840 _ December 5, 1926), French impressionist painter. ...

Biography

Hokusai was born in Edo (now Tokyo) in the 9th month of the 10th year of the period Horeki (October-November, 1760) to an artisan family. His father, Nakajima Issai, was a mirror-maker. At age eighteen, after some practice as a wood-engraver, he entered the studio of Katsugawa Shunsho, a painter and designer of color prints. His disregard for the artistic principles of his master caused his expulsion in 1785. DRAM is a type of random access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor. ... Tokyo (東京; Tōkyō  listen, literally eastern capital), is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu in Japan. ... Events January 9 - Afghans defeat Marathas in Battle of Barari Ghat. ... Events January 1st The first issue of the Daily Universal Register, later known as The Times, is published in London. ...

Between 1796 and 1802 he produced perhaps as many as 30,000 book illustrations and color prints. He often drew inspiration from the Japanese ordinary life, traditions and legends. In 1824 he published the book New Forms for Design, and his designs have inspired many Sashiko quilting patterns. Hokusai's most typical wood-block prints, silkscreens, and landscape paintings were done between 1830 and 1840. A book is a collection of leaves of paper, parchment or other material, bound together along one edge within covers. ... Sasiko quilting (刺し子, [Pronounced: SA-SHEE-KOE]) is a form of quilting originating from Japan. ... Screen-printing, also known as silkscreening or serigraphy, is a printmaking technique that creates a sharp-edged single-color image using a stencil and a porous fabric. ... Landscape painting refers to the art of creating a picture from a landscape. ...

Although from time to time Hokusai studied various styles, he maintained stylistic independence thereafter. For a time he lived in extreme poverty, and, although he must have gained sums for his work which might have secured him comfort, he remained poor, and to the end of his life proudly described himself as a peasant.

He was an eager student to the end of his long life, and said on his deathbed, "If Heaven had lent me but five years more, I would have become a great painter." He died on May 10, 1849. May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

After his death, copies of some of his woodblock prints were sent to the West, and along with the works of other ukiyo-e artists, influenced such Western masters as Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. Self-portrait (1886) Vincent Willem van Gogh (March 30, 1853 – July 29, 1890) was a Dutch painter, generally considered one of the greatest painters in European art history. ... Paul Gauguin (June 7, 1848 - May 9, 1903) was a leading Post-Impressionist painter. ...

Katsushika Hokusai is generally more appreciated in Western culture than in Japan. Many works of Japanese printmakers were imported to Europe, especially Paris in the mid-19th century. They were collected and popular among impressionist artists as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, whose works bear signs of influence by Japanese art. For this articles equivalent regarding the East, see Eastern culture Western Culture refers to the culture that has developed in the Western world. ... International trade is defined as trade between two or more partners from different countries (an exporter and an importer). ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Impressionism was a 19th century art movement, that began as a private association of Paris-based artists who began publicly exhibiting their art in the 1860s. ... Oscar-Claude Monet (November 14, 1840 _ December 5, 1926), French impressionist painter. ... Edgar Degas (July 19, 1834 – September 27, 1917) was a Faggot buttlicker and ballsucker. ... Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. ...

Perhaps his most recognized work is the woodblock "The Great Wave at Kanagawa." The scene is of a great wave about to devour the men and boats, with the distant Mount Fuji minimized by the size of the wave. It is said to be a snapshot picture of a day of labor; one can see surprised men on barges, carrying fish. The waves in this work are sometimes mistakenly referred to as tsunami (津波), but they are more accurately called okinami (沖波), great off-shore waves. A woodcut is a method of printing in which an image is carved into the surface of a piece of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with chisels. ... Mount Fuji (富士山 Fuji-san, IPA: [ɸuʝisaɴ]) is the highest mountain on the island of Honshu and indeed in all of Japan. ... The tsunami that struck Malé in the Maldives on December 26, 2004. ...

Works

Hokusai had a long career, but he produced most of his important work after the age of 60. His most popular work is ukiyo-e series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽三十六景 Fugaku Sanjūrokkei), which was created between 1826 and 1833. It consists of 46 images (10 of them added later), but he produced outstanding pictures of almost every kind of subject - flowers, birds and scenery from legends and everyday life. Ukiyo-e (浮世絵, a Japanese term meaning pictures of the floating world) is a style of painting, but is more commonly associated with a type of woodcut printmaking that became popular in Japan in the 18th and 19th centuries. ... Mount Fuji (富士山 Fuji-san, IPA: [ɸuʝisaɴ]) is the highest mountain on the island of Honshu and indeed in all of Japan. ... 1826 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1833 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

The largest of Hokusai's works is the 15-volume collection Hokusai Manga (北斎漫画), a book crammed with inventive sketches and was published from 1814. Its caricatures are often considered the precedent to modern manga. Rurouni Kenshin manga, volume 1 (English version) Manga (漫画) is the Japanese word for comics; outside of Japan, it usually refers specifically to Japanese comics. ...

Some ukiyo-e from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji:

• The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife (erotic)

The Dream of the Fishermans Wife The Dream of the Fishermans Wife is an erotic woodcut made circa 1820 by Hokusai, perhaps the first instance of tentacled creatures appearing in Japanese erotica (sometimes called tentacle sex). ... Eroticism is an aesthetic focused on sexual desire, especially the feelings of anticipation of sexual activity. ...

See also

• Ukiyo-e
• Shunga

Ukiyo-e (浮世絵, a Japanese term meaning pictures of the floating world) is a style of painting, but is more commonly associated with a type of woodcut printmaking that became popular in Japan in the 18th and 19th centuries. ... Shunga (春画)(lit. ...

External links

• Hokusai-Museum in Obuse, central Japan (http://www.book-navi.com/hokusai/hokusai-e.html)
• Art of the Edo Period, Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849) - has a bio and a nice gallery of his works (http://www.monks.demon.co.uk/hocus.htm)
• WebMuseum Paris, Hokusai, Katsushika, another bio (http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/hokusai/)
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art's (New York) entry on "The Great Wave at Kanagawa." (http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=6&viewMode=0&item=JP1847)
• More on Mandelbrot Set (http://www.math.okstate.edu/mathdept/dynamics/lecnotes/node47.html)