Character Catalog

The world's most famous woodblock print, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. It depicts a gigantic wave threatening fishing boats with Fuji in the background, symbolizing the power of nature against human fragility.

A series of 46 prints (initially 36, with 10 added due to success) exploring Fuji from various locations and situations. It marks the pinnacle of landscape in Japanese printmaking and introduced Prussian blue on a massive scale.

Fifteen volumes of encyclopedic sketches covering the human body, animals, plants, and natural phenomena. This drawing manual would influence European artists, particularly the Impressionists.

A trilogy of illustrated books in black, grey, and white, considered by Hokusai himself to be the pinnacle of his art. The diversity of viewpoints and mastery of line are exceptional throughout.

A provocative and dreamlike print from the collection Kinoe no Komatsu, depicting a female diver surrounded by octopuses. It is considered one of the first erotic representations of this kind in Japanese art.

From the series A Tour of Waterfalls in the Provinces, this print shows tiny pilgrims before a monumental waterfall. It illustrates Hokusai's mastery in depicting the movement of water.

A monumental painting executed on the ceiling of a festival float in Obuse, one of Hokusai's last major works at age 84. It bears witness to a creative energy that remained intact into extreme old age.

A collection of nearly 4,000 drawings published between 1814 and 1878, featuring studies of human bodies, animals, landscapes, and scenes of daily Japanese life, originally conceived as a teaching manual for his students.

A three-volume work in which Hokusai depicts Fuji in all its forms, seasons, and perspectives, illustrating his quest for absolute mastery of line and composition.

Hokusai describes his artistic approach: 'From the age of six, I had a mania for drawing the form of objects. By fifty, I had published an infinity of drawings, but everything I produced before the age of seventy is not worth counting.'

Hokusai presents his series as an exploration of Fuji's permanence in contrast to the fleeting nature of human activity, weaving together grand landscapes and scenes of everyday work.

Hokusai's birthplace and home, a working-class neighborhood populated by craftsmen, merchants, and actors. It was in this bustling city that he developed his work over more than seven decades.

Hokusai's obsessive subject, a sacred symbol of Japan that he depicted in hundreds of different forms across his most famous series. He may never have climbed it, but contemplated it from afar throughout his life.

The presumed setting of the scene depicted in The Great Wave off Kanagawa, with Mount Fuji visible in the background. The boats are fast fishing vessels (oshiokuri-bune) transporting fish to Edo.

The town where Hokusai stayed on several occasions between 1842 and 1844, hosted by his patron Takai Kozan. There he painted festival float ceilings and monumental canvases now preserved in the Hokusai Museum in Obuse.

Museum opened in 2016 in the Sumida ward, not far from the places where Hokusai lived in Edo. It holds more than 1,500 original works and traces the full span of his career.

Essential support for ukiyo-e printmaking, carved by specialist craftsmen. Hokusai would draw the composition on thin paper, then carvers would transfer it onto the wood block before printing.

Hokusai's primary tool, which he wielded with exceptional virtuosity to trace his dynamic lines. He owned brushes of every size, from the finest for detail work to the broadest for flat areas of color.

Black China ink prepared by rubbing a solid ink stick on a damp stone, used for preparatory drawings and monochrome prints. Its density and fluidity vary depending on dilution.

A sheet of washi paper printed by layering multiple wood blocks inked in different colors, a technique mastered in the 18th century and brought to its peak by Hokusai.

An everyday object of the Edo period, frequently depicted in genre prints. Hokusai himself is sometimes described as a tobacco smoker, a habit widespread among the artisan classes of Edo.

Traditional Japanese handmade paper crafted from mulberry fibers, both strong and absorbent. Hokusai used it for his preparatory drawings as well as his sketchbooks (manga).

A lacquered wood or ceramic container holding the mineral and plant-based pigments used for painting and printing: Prussian blue (introduced to Japan around 1820), vermilion red, ochre yellow, green.