Great Wave

神奈川沖浪裏 kanagawa-oki nami ura

Hokusai's towering wave curling over a tiny Mount Fuji, from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (c. 1831). It stands for the power of nature, and for steadiness: Fuji stays calm beneath the wave.

Edo, c. 1831, woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai

The first print in Hokusai's series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, published c. 1830–32 and printed in large editions with imported Prussian blue. Many impressions survive in museums, including the Met (JP1847) and the Art Institute of Chicago. It is probably the most reproduced Japanese image in the world and a favourite on modern furoshiki.