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Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), or The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)

ca. 1830–32
Not on view
The breathtaking composition of this woodblock print, said to have inspired Debussy’s La Mer (The Sea) and Rilke’s Der Berg (The Mountain), ensures its reputation as an icon of world art. Hokusai cleverly played with perspective to make Japan’s grandest mountain appear as a small triangular mound within the hollow of the cresting wave. The artist became famous for his landscapes created using a palette of indigo and imported Prussian blue.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 「富嶽三十六景　神奈川沖浪裏」
  • Title: Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), or The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
  • Artist: Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1760–1849 Tokyo (Edo))
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: ca. 1830–32
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: 10 x 15 in. (25.4 x 38.1 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936
  • Object Number: JP2569
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei), Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan
Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1830–32
Print, Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, Handcolored woodcut, Japan
Print
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1820
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries
Night Rain at the Double-Shelf Stand, from the series Eight Parlor Views (Zashiki hakkei), Suzuki Harunobu Japanese, Woodblock print (first edition); ink and colors on paper, medium-sized print (chuban), Japan
Night Rain at the Double-Shelf Stand, from the series Eight Parlor Views (Zashiki hakkei)
Suzuki Harunobu
ca. 1766
In Front of a Shop, Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, Japan
In Front of a Shop
Katsushika Hokusai
dated 1780

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