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Katsushika Hokusai

Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) was a Japanese artist and printmaker whose work profoundly shaped the visual language of ukiyo-e and left a lasting mark on global art. Born in Edo (modern-day Tokyo), Hokusai demonstrated extraordinary artistic talent from a young age, entering artistic training in a woodblock workshop as a child. Over his lifetime, he worked under multiple names and explored a vast range of subjects — from landscapes and flora to mythological scenes and daily life — displaying an insatiable curiosity and remarkable versatility.

Hokusai is perhaps best known for his series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (c. 1830–1832), which includes the iconic The Great Wave off Kanagawa. These prints reveal his mastery of composition, perspective, and colour, combining traditional Japanese techniques with innovations influenced by Chinese painting and imported European pigments. Beyond landscapes, Hokusai produced illustrated books, sketches, and studies of flora, fauna, and human activity, demonstrating both technical precision and a vivid imagination.

Throughout his long career, Hokusai embraced change and experimentation, often revising his style and subjects to explore new visual effects. His work embodies a dynamic blend of elegance, energy, and humour, capturing the beauty and vitality of everyday life in Edo-period Japan. Today, Hokusai’s prints and paintings are celebrated worldwide, recognised for their technical brilliance, inventive compositions, and enduring influence on both Japanese art and Western modernism.