Katsushika Hokusai

Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾 北斎, c. October 31, 1760 – May 10, 1849) was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo Period. Born in Edo (now Tokyo), Hokusai is best known as author of the wood block print series Thirty Six Views of Mt Fuji (富嶽三十六景 Fugaku Sanjūroku-kei, c. 1831) which includes the internationally iconic print, The Great Wave of Kanagawa.

The National Gallery of Victoria is currently staging a major exhibition of Hokusai’s woodblock prints until late October 2017.

Our prints are printed on 300GSM Archival art paper. The most common size is 51x61cm. The image size is 48x32cm with a white border. They are also available framed in a contemporary black frame with quality perspex to protect them, the framed size is approximately 54x64cm. Our extensive range of prints is very large numbering over 100.

Take some time to scroll through the images on this page, you’ll find a huge choice.

Hokusai created the “Thirty-Six Views” both as a response to a domestic travel boom and as part of a personal obsession with Mount Fuji. It was this series, specifically The Great Wave print and Fine Wind, Clear Morning, that secured Hokusai’s fame both in Japan and overseas. As historian Richard Lane concludes, “Indeed, if there is one work that made Hokusai’s name, both in Japan and abroad, it must be this monumental print-series”. While Hokusai’s work prior to this series is certainly important, it was not until this series that he gained broad recognition.