Katsushika Hokusai: The Great Wave at Kanagawa Poster from The Met Museum

Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760-1849) mastered painting and printmaking styles and techniques from a vast range of sources: traditional Japanese, Chinese, and Western. His woodblock print “The Great Wave at Kanagawa” (ca. 1831) is from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji in The Met’s collection. In addition to its sheer graphic beauty, the print’s preeminence can be attributed to the compelling force of the contrast between the surging wave and the distant mountain. Our print celebrates this enduring image from an important era in Japanese art.