The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai Soft Enamel Keychain1.25"5 colorsBacker card About The Great Wave off KanagawaThis is certainly the most recognizable work of Japanese art in the world. Also called The Wave, this work by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai is a woodblock print (not a painting). Published between 1829 and 1833, it is the first print in the artist’s series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. The image depicts an enormous wave threatening three boats off the coast in the Sagami Bay while Mount Fuji rises in the background. About Hokusai Hokusai (born October 1760, Edo [now Tokyo], Japan—died May 10, 1849, Edo) was a Japanese master artist and printmaker of the ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”) school. His early works represent the full spectrum of ukiyo-e art, including single-sheet prints of landscapes and actors, hand paintings, and surimono (“printed things”), such as greetings and announcements. His famous print series “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji,” published between 1826 and 1833, marked the summit in the history of the Japanese landscape print.
