Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave

The Great Wave or Under the Wave off Kanagawa is one of the most well known pieces of Japanese Art. It was created by Katsushika Hokusai between 1830-1832 during the Edo period. The Great Wave is a polychrome woodblock print measuring 10 ⅛ x 14 15/16 inches. In this critique, we will analyze Hokusai’s processes and use of design for The Great Wave.

It is estimated that Hokusai created 30,000 pieces of art during his lifetime. Many artists changed their names a few times during their career, but Hokusai had at least thirty names that he went by. These name changes usually accompanied an artistic change. He began his artistic career painting designs on mirrors at the age of six in his father’s mirror making shop. He worked as an apprentice

to a wood carver until he was accepted to study in the studio of Katsukawa Shunsho, an ukiyo-e artist.
Ukiyo-e refers to Japanese woodblock prints created in the Edo Period. Ukiyo means “the floating world”, which described the impermanence of all the pleasures in the world. Because the Japanese states were no longer at war, the samurai had nothing to fight about. Many turned towards the pleasures in the red lights district filled with brothels, kabuki theater, and tea houses. Many ukiyo-e artists would study the everyday activities of customers, geishas, samurai, and entertainers. In contrast to The Great Wave, Hokusai created shunga (erotic art) pieces like The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife just fifteen years earlier. The stark differences between the subject matters that he became interested in mark drastic breakthroughs in his career.
The Great Wave is a part of a series called Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. The series explores Mount Fuji from different perspectives, seasons, and locations. Some prints depict Mount Fuji as the main subject, but others focus on the people, making Mount Fuji small in the background. The series emphasizes how grand the sacred mountain is, while also catering to followers of the “Fuji cult” and travelers. (***)
Creating a classical Japanese woodblock print usually required multiple people to work on one project. Projects usually began through a contract between an artist and a publisher. Because only the artist gets credit, it is hard to tell what parts of the print Hokusai did himself. A typical woodblock began with a sketch by the artist. This sketch was then translated by another artist into a highly detailed drawing called a hanshita, which becomes exactly what we see in the final print.
The hanshita is then given to the block carvers who would paste the image onto a piece of wood. The block carver would carefully choose aged cherry wood to prevent warping. A master carver would carve small details, and an apprentice would carve the larger areas. The outlines would be cut at a slope instead of straight down to prevent chipping. This outline would produce the black lines of the print called a “key block”. The key block would then be used as the master guide for the additional blocks. Additional blocks were used to add separate colors. A kento would be used to re-register the image using the additional blocks.
Next, printers would finish the work of art. The printers would make inks including vegetable and mineral inks. Ink was applied to the block with a brush called a hake. Rice-starch was used to give better adhesion to the ink. Moistened mulberry paper would then be lined up using the kento and laid onto the wooden block. Using a circular baren, the printer would make circular motions to adhere the ink to the paper. Colors would be applied from lightest to darkest, with the key block in black as the final layer.
Design principles that were used in Hokusai’s print are emphasis, balance, movement, contrast, pattern, and unity. While one may assume that Hokusai would choose to emphasize Mount Fuji in his series about Mount Fuji, that is only a partially correct answer. As demonstrated by The Great Wave, Mount Fuji is not the main subject of the image although it is almost in the center of the print. Instead, emphasis is placed on the large wave that is hovering on the left side of the image by use of proportion. The emphasis is placed on the wave first so that the viewer will follow the diagonal line of the wave. Underneath the wave are three boats with tiny fishermen bracing for impact. Mount Fuji can be seen off in the distance as a tiny mound. The wave’s menacing size is used to emphasize the ominous impact it will make on the fishermen.
Asymmetrical balance is used in this composition in order to emphasize the main event on the left side. Asymmetrical balance was a perfect choice for this composition to allow the negative space to share attention with the wave. Hokusai was able to make a more dynamic use of the negative space by following the curve of the wave, thereby bringing attention to Mount Fuji in the background. If the composition was symmetrical, the visual weight of the wave would most likely not look as menacing and would fail to bring attention to the smaller details within the negative space.
Movement is arguably the most important aspect of The Great Wave. It is shown in almost all aspects of the print. The most obvious use of movement is in the waves itself. The large wave extends across the page with a beautiful curve that hooks and rolls back over dynamically. The curved lines continue into the blues of the water to make everything feel like its moving towards that one peak. Even the fishermen’s boats follow the same curve in the direction towards the big wave. The dots of white coming from the water enhance the sense of movement because of the variety in size and location of the splashing. The water droplets look as though they are spraying everywhere. Within the white areas of the wave, the repetitive curved patterns give direction and movement. In contrast, Mount Fuji looks still due to its lines appearing less curved.
Contrast is primarily utilized in two ways in this print: proportion and color. Hokusai uses proportion to contrast between the literal size and the perceived size of objects. The wave is considerably much larger than Mount Fuji in this perspective although their real size would prove to be the opposite. The people and their boats look tiny in contrast to the size of the wave. Although we cannot be sure this is what Hokusai actually saw or not, more than likely he exaggerated the size of the wave for the sake of the composition. One revolutionary aspect of The Great Wave is its use of the color Prussian Blue. This pigment was first created in Europe, then made cheaper and smuggled into Japan from China. The varying shades of blue against the whites of the crest and pale background contrast each other to make us focus on the water. The background also has a gradient behind Mount Fuji from dark to light. This gradient helps Mount Fuji contrast its background and stand out.
Pattern is used in all elements in the foreground and middleground.

First, the three boats form a pattern of their own. Next, the fishermen on the boat are all clinging to the boat in the exact same way on every boat. Their round white heads with blue outfits form a pattern with their shape and color. Then we have a pattern within the water in multiple areas. One is with the dark blue color forming a stripped pattern with the white of the crest. The second is the dark blue forming a stripped pattern with a lighter shade of blue on the main wave. The third is the curled wave pattern on the crest of the wave. The last pattern is the repetitive dots made by the water splashing. All of these patterns aid in adding unity to the piece.

The Great Wave is a wonderful example of unity. The patterns mentioned above are repeated throughout the entire composition. The colors aid in unity by tying Mount Fuji together with the main wave. The fishermen’s outfit also match the color of the water. The background color used for atmosphere matches the color of the fishermen’s boat. The colors nicely complement each other and tie everything together. The curves used on a large scale and small scale unify the piece so that nothing is unusually

angular.
In conclusion, it is no wonder The Great Wave by Hokusai is one of the most famous pieces of Japanese art in existence. Its beauty transcends its time period and has been reproduced on many products. The only downside to this piece is that it is no longer on display due to its vegetable based inks beginning to fade. The Great Wave highlights the importance of emphasis, balance, movement, contrast, pattern, and unity.