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Katsushika Hokusai
(葛飾北斎) (1760-1849) was
an Edo period Japanese artist, painter, wood
engraver and ukiyo-e maker, born in Edo (now
Tokyo). Author of the 13-volume sketchbook Hokusai
manga (begun in 1814) and  the woodblock
printing|block prints "Thirty-six Views of Mount
Fuji," (created around 1823-1829), which includes
"The Great Wave at Kanagawa." He is considered one
of the outstanding figures of the ukiyo-e, or
"pictures of the floating world" (everyday life),
school of printmaking. Hokusai is also renowned
for his erotic prints in shunga style. His
"Fukujusô", a series of twelve prints celebrating
the glory of flesh and passion, is considered one
of the three greatest shunga works. His art was an
important source of inspiration for many
impressionism|European impressionists like Claude
Monet. 

== Biography ==

Hokusai was born in Edo (now Tokyo) in the 9th
month of the 10th year of the period Horeki
(October-November, 1760) to an artisan family. His
father, Nakajima Issai, was a mirror-maker. At age
eighteen, after some practice as a wood-engraver,
he entered the studio of Katsugawa Shunsho, a
painter and designer of color prints. His
disregard for the artistic principles of his
master caused his expulsion in 1785. 

Between 1796 and 1802 he produced perhaps as many
as 30,000 book illustrations and color prints. He
often drew inspiration from the Japanese ordinary
life, traditions and legends. In 1824 he published
the book New Forms for Design, and his designs
have inspired many Sashiko quilting patterns.
Hokusai's most typical wood-block prints,
silkscreens, and landscape paintings were done
between 1830 and 1840. 

Although from time to time Hokusai studied various
styles, he maintained stylistic independence
thereafter. For a time he lived in extreme
poverty, and, although he must have gained sums
for his work which might have secured him comfort,
he remained poor, and to the end of his life
proudly described himself as a peasant. 

He was an eager student to the end of his long
life, and said on his deathbed,
"If Heaven had lent me but five years more, I
would have become a great painter." He died on May
10, 1849.

After his death, copies of some of his woodblock
prints were sent to the West, and along with the
works of other ukiyo-e artists, influenced such
Western masters as Vincent van Gogh and Paul
Gauguin.

Katsushika Hokusai is generally more appreciated
in Western culture than in Japan. Many works of
Japanese printmakers were imported to Europe,
especially Paris in the mid-19th century. They
were collected and popular among
impressionism|impressionist artists as Claude
Monet, Edgar Degas, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec,
whose works bear signs of influence by Japanese
art.

Perhaps his most recognized work is the woodblock
"The Great Wave at Kanagawa." The scene is of a
great wave about to devour the men and boats, with
the distant Mount Fuji  minimized by the size of
the wave. It is said to be a snapshot picture of a
day of labor; one can see surprised men on barges,
carrying fish.  The waves in this work are
sometimes mistakenly referred to as tsunami
(津波), but they are more accurately
called okinami (沖波), great off-shore
waves.

== Works ==

Hokusai had a long career, but he produced most of
his important work after the age of 60. His most
popular work is ukiyo-e series Thirty-six Views of
Mt. Fuji|Mount Fuji
(富嶽三十六景
Fugaku Sanjūrokkei), which was created
between 1826 and 1833.
It consists of 46 images (10 of them added later),
but he produced outstanding pictures of almost
every kind of subject - flowers, birds and scenery
from legends and everyday life.

The largest of Hokusai's works is the 15-volume
collection Hokusai Manga
(北斎漫画), a book crammed
with inventive sketches and was published from
1814. Its caricatures are often considered the
precedent to modern manga.

Some ukiyo-e from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji:

* The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife (erotic)

== See also ==

*Ukiyo-e
*Shunga

== External links ==
commonscat|Katsushika Hokusai
* http://www.book-navi.com/hokusai/hokusai-e.html
Hokusai-Museum in Obuse, central Japan
* http://www.monks.demon.co.uk/hocus.htm Art of
the Edo Period, Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849) -
has a bio and a nice gallery of his works
* http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/hokusai/
WebMuseum Paris, Hokusai, Katsushika, another bio
*
http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?
dep=6&viewMode=0&item=JP1847 The Metropolitan
Museum of Art's (New York) entry on "The Great
Wave at Kanagawa." 
* http://www.andreas.com/hokusai.html Hokusai and
Japanese Art
*
http://www.math.okstate.edu/mathdept/dynamics/lecn
otes/node47.html More on Mandelbrot Set