Katsushika Hokusai’s masterpiece, Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa-oki nami-ura), often referred to as The Great Wave, is the most famous work of Japanese art. The Japanese woodblock print was part of the series ‘Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji’ (Fugaku sanju-rokkei), published by Nishimuraya Yohachi and his publishing house Eijudo between 1831-33.  The series depicts Mount Fuji, Japan’s most sacred mountain and tallest peak. ‘Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji’ (Fugaku sanju-rokkei) is one of the first major print series that had Prussian (or Berlin) blue, a newly imported pigment from China that resisted fading, applied in combination with indigo.

The series was such a sensational success at the time, that additional ten prints were added to the series to meet popular demand. Even though thousands of this design were produced during the Edo period (1603-1868), nowadays only approximately one hundred and thirty original impressions of The Great Wave are known to exist in collections around the world. Among those extant, each vary in their state, condition and impression – no two prints are the same in Japanese woodblock printing. Every impression was hand-printed by the surishi [printer] working from woodblocks incised by the horishi [carver]; the carver in turn followed the block-ready paper proof drawn by the artist.

Seven different woodblocks were carved to produce the motif. The seventh block, creating a pink or beige cloud above the scene, was not used in all impressions. Under the stress of printing, the finely incised lines of the blocks were subject to wear. Later impressions reveal themselves by re-carved sections in the block where defects obstructed the printing process.

The main subject of the design, the ‘Great Wave’, towers up and crests over forming claw-like extensions which reach towards the snow-capped peak of Mount Fuji dwarfed below; the sacred mountain revealed for a moment in the well of the wave. The oarsmen of three skiffs (oshiokuri-bune) struggle against the overwhelming force of the wave as they head away from Edo to meet fishermen with fresh catches of fish to return to the capital to sell in the markets. The wave is frozen at its highest point of drama, as if suddenly stopping to pose like a kabuki actor performing a mie, a pose affected at a particularly poignant part of the theatre. Hokusai executed these block ready designs at a time when the encroachment from the Western powers was becoming more and more palpable - their mode of transport and dominance of course was maritime.

Prints like The Great Wave were instrumental for creating the craze for all things Japanese, during the phase of Japonism, at the end of the nineteenth century when these prints arrived in Europe. The composition is said to have inspired Claude Debussy’s (1862-1918) piece La Mer (The Sea), and artists like Claude Monet (1840-1926) and Henri Rivière (1864-1951) were impacted by Japanese prints in their own work and collected them. The aspect of serialization of a motif can be found in works like Monet’s haystacks. Rivière even produced a series of lithographs called Thirty-six Views of the Eiffel Tower (1888-1902) as an homage to Hokusai’s views of Fuji. The French art critic and writer Edmond de Goncourt (1822-1896) wrote the first monograph in a Western language on Hokusai in 1896.

With its bold linear design, striking juxtapositions, and reduced application of color The Great Wave is not only a masterpiece of Japanese art but has in the twentieth century advanced to a global icon, an icon of world art. No other Japanese print is more internationally renowned, occupying an iconic place in modern visual culture. The perfect balance of the composition combined with the universally understood concept of the struggle of man against the monumental forces of nature are elements that contribute to its enduring popularity.

For a similar impression of the same print in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, reference number 1952.343.

葛飾北齋的代表作《神奈川沖浪裏》（Kanagawa-oki nami-ura）常被稱為「巨浪」，是日本最著名的藝術作品。這幅日本木版畫為《冨嶽三十六景》（Fugaku sanju-rokkei）系列作之一，由西村屋與八及其出版社永壽堂於 1831 - 1833 年間發行。該系列描繪的，是日本最神聖、最高的山峰——富士山。《冨嶽三十六景》是最早使用普魯士藍（又稱柏林藍）的大型版畫系列之一，普魯士藍是進口自中國的新顏料，不易褪色，可結合靛藍使用。該系列在當時大獲成功，為了滿足群眾的要求，又再補畫了十幅版畫。

儘管在江戶時代（1603-1868）生產了成千上萬件這款設計，但現今全球收藏中僅有約一百三十幅《神奇的浪潮》原版印刷畫得以流傳。在這些存世作品中，每一幅的狀態和印刷上各有不同。 在日本木刻版畫中，沒有兩幅是完全相同的。每一幅印刷畫都經由藝術家繪製版紙樣稿後，由刻版師進行雕刻。隨後，印刷師使用刻版師完成的木版，進行手工印刷的製作過程。製作圖案需要使用七塊不同的木塊雕刻。第七塊木塊會在畫面上方形成粉紅色或米色雲彩，不過並非所有印刷畫都會使用。印刷時的壓力，會令木塊上的精細刻線磨損。在印刷過程中造成的缺陷部分會被重新雕刻，較後期製作的印刷畫會留下相應痕跡。

葛飾北齋的代表作《神奈川沖浪裏》（Kanagawa-oki nami-ura）常被稱為「巨浪」，是日本最著名的藝術作品。這幅日本木版畫為《冨嶽三十六景》（Fugaku sanju-rokkei）系列作之一，由西村屋與八及其出版社永壽堂於 1831 - 1833 年間發行。該系列描繪的，是日本最神聖、最高的山峰——富士山。《冨嶽三十六景》是最早使用普魯士藍（又稱柏林藍）的大型版畫系列之一，普魯士藍是進口自中國的新顏料，不易褪色，可結合靛藍使用。該系列在當時大獲成功，為了滿足群眾的要求，又再補畫了十幅版畫。畫中主體「巨浪」高聳入雲，形成爪狀，伸向下方雪白的富士山頂；神聖的富士山在一瞬間顯現於浪井之中。三艘小艇（oshiokuri-bune）上的槳手奮力抵抗著波浪的壓倒性力量，他們自江戶出發，前往接應帶著魚獲返回首都市場銷售的漁民。波浪在戲劇性的最高點凝固，如同歌舞伎演員在戲中最淒美一幕中瞬間靜止擺出的「見得」（mie）姿勢。北齋創作這些巨幅版畫時，西方列強的侵略越發明目張膽——他們採用的正是海上運輸方式與統治手段。

十九世紀末，日本主義興起，《巨浪》等版畫傳到歐洲，掀起當地人對所有日本事物的狂熱。克勞德‧德布斯（Claude Debussy，1862-1918 年）作品《大海‧其一》（La Mer I，The Sea I）的創作靈感據說就源自這幅版畫。這些日本版畫亦獲克勞德‧莫奈（Claude Monet，1840-1926 年）和亨利‧利維埃（Henri Rivière，1864-1951 年）等藝術家收藏，繼而影響他們的作品。莫內的《乾草堆》（Haystacks）等作品就有主題系列化的現象。利維耶甚至創作了名為《艾菲爾鐵塔三十六景》（1888-1902 年）的石版畫系列，向北齋的《富嶽三十六景》致敬。1896 年，法國藝術評論家暨作家埃文‧崗各爾（1822-1896 年）撰寫了第一本以西方語言講述北齋的專著。

「巨浪」以大膽的線性設計、引人注目的並置手法與淡薄的色彩運用成為日本藝術的大師級傑作，以及二十世紀的世界藝術標誌。本作是國際上最知名的日本版畫，在現代視覺文化中擁有超然地位。人類奮力對抗自然的無窮力量，是所有人都能共情的概念，結合構圖的完美平衡，正是本作歷久不衰的原因。芝加哥藝術學院藏有同一版畫的類似印刷，參考編號為 1952.343。