Great Wave at Kanagawa

Artist Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760-1849)

Date1830s

Dimensions14 5/8 x 10 1/16 in. (37.1 x 25.6 cm)

Mediumwoodblock print

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineCarrie L. Brown Bequest Fund

Object number

1951.292

Not on View

Label TextThe Edo period (1615–1868) in Japan witnessed the transition from feudal samurai culture to a trade-based society. A new merchant class arose that had wealth but no possibility of gaining power or social position. These chonin dedicated themselves instead to the pursuit of pleasure: the distractions of teahouses, licensed brothels, theater, fashion, nature, and art. Such fleeting pleasures of everyday life were known as the Floating World. Edo chonin collected woodblock prints of the people, places, and activities that represented the ideals of the Floating World, called ukiyo-e (“pictures of the Floating World”). Hokusai was one of the last, and one of the greatest, ukiyo-e masters. His series Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji celebrated the famous mountain while inventively showcasing everyday Japanese life. In Great Wave at Kanagawa the crashing sea and tossing boats frame the diminutive Mt. Fuji, capturing the thrill of nature’s unpredictable power.Published ReferencesJapanese Prints of the Ledoux Collection, vol. 5, L. 84 (21) unpublished.

The Toledo Museum of Art, Calendar for March, repr. on front.

Christie, Mary Joanne, The Picture Story of Art, Toledo, Ohio, Gregorian Press, 1963, pp. 94, 95, repr. p. 95, no. 123, in color pl. c-2.

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: map and guide, London, Scala, 2005, p. 32, repr. (col.).

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: map and guide, London, Scala, 2009, p. 32, repr. (col.).

Exhibition HistoryToledo,Toledo Museum of Art, Whistler, November 1961.

French Prints from the Toledo Museum of Art, Feb 18 - May 15, 2005.

Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Looks Good on Paper: Masterworks and Favorites, Oct. 10, 2014-Jan. 11, 2015.