Katsushika Hokusai

Who They Were

Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) was a Japanese painter and printmaker of the Edo period (1603–1868). He worked across woodblock prints, painting, and book illustration, and is best known for his landscape series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji. That series includes The Great Wave off Kanagawa and Fine Wind, Clear Morning, two prints that secured his reputation in Japan and abroad.

Hokusai was born on 31 October 1760 in Honjo, a district of Edo. He died on 10 May 1849 in Asakusa, also in Edo. Over a career spanning roughly seven decades, he produced more than 30,000 paintings, sketches, woodblock prints, and images for picture books. He is considered one of the greatest masters in the history of art.

Life and Career

Hokusai began working as a young child, and he continued refining his style until his death at age 88. His early career was shaped by the conventions of ukiyo-e, a genre that had largely focused on courtesans and actors. Hokusai pushed the medium beyond portraiture, developing a broader style that encompassed landscapes, plants, and animals.

He created Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji in response to a domestic travel boom in Japan and out of a personal fascination with Mount Fuji. The series was monumental in scope and helped redefine what ukiyo-e could depict. His compositions were innovative, and his drawing technique was exceptional by the standards of his contemporaries.

Hokusai worked in multiple mediums throughout his life. In addition to woodblock prints, he painted and illustrated books. His Hokusai Manga, a multi-volume collection of sketches, became widely known for its range of subjects, from everyday people to mythical creatures. Other notable works include Oceans of Wisdom, A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces, The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife, Watermelon, Great Daruma, and Ehon Chūkyō.

He was active in Edo, where he lived and worked for most of his career. His two children, Katsushika Ōi and Katsushika Tatsujo, were also artists. Hokusai’s influence extended to later ukiyo-e artists, including Utagawa Hiroshige, who built on Hokusai’s landscape innovations.

Why They Matter

Hokusai was instrumental in transforming ukiyo-e from a style focused on portraits of courtesans and actors into a much broader art form. His landscape prints, especially those in Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, opened new subject matter for woodblock artists. The Great Wave off Kanagawa and Fine Wind, Clear Morning became iconic images, recognised far beyond Japan.

His work reached Europe in the late 19th century during the wave of Japonisme. Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet both drew significant influence from Hokusai’s compositions and use of colour. His prints helped shape the direction of Western modern art, particularly in the areas of flat colour, unusual angles, and the integration of text and image.

Hokusai’s output was vast and varied. He produced over 30,000 works across paintings, sketches, prints, and illustrated books. His technical skill and willingness to experiment kept his work fresh across decades of changing tastes. He is regarded as a master not only of ukiyo-e but of art history more broadly.

The Name in Japanese

The name in Japanese is 葛飾北斎, read かつしか ほくさい in kana, and romanised as Katsushika Hokusai.

• 葛 (かつ, katsu): the character means "arrowroot" or "kudzu vine". In this name it appears as part of the place-name Katsushika, a district in Edo.
• 飾 (し, shi): the character means "to decorate" or "to adorn". Here it is used phonetically as part of the reading Katsushika; its standalone meaning is not directly relevant to the name.
• 北 (ほく, hoku): the character means "north". It is the first character of the given name Hokusai.
• 斎 (さい, sai): the character means "purification", "worship", or "study room". In this name it is read sai and forms the second half of Hokusai.

The family name is Katsushika (葛飾), and the given name is Hokusai (北斎). The full name, 葛飾北斎, is written with four characters: two for the family name and two for the given name.

Legacy

Hokusai’s legacy rests on both his artistic output and his influence on later generations. His landscape series, particularly Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, set a new standard for ukiyo-e and helped establish the landscape as a major subject in Japanese printmaking. The Great Wave off Kanagawa remains one of the most reproduced images in art history.

His influence on Western artists was profound. Van Gogh and Monet studied his prints closely, and their work reflects his use of bold outlines, flat areas of colour, and unconventional perspectives. The Japonisme movement of the late 19th century carried Hokusai’s aesthetic into European painting, graphic design, and decorative arts.

In Japan, his impact continued through artists like Utagawa Hiroshige, who extended Hokusai’s landscape innovations. Hokusai’s Hokusai Manga also influenced the development of modern manga and comic art. His work was included in documenta 12, a major contemporary art exhibition held in Kassel, Germany, in 2007, reflecting his enduring relevance.

Hokusai died in 1849 at age 88, still working. His final years were marked by a famous statement that he hoped to live long enough to perfect his art. He did not achieve that goal, but the body of work he left behind has made him a central figure in the history of Japanese and world art.