Year 11 ATAR Visual Art
Hokusai
The great wave off Kanagawa (c. 1830)
from the Thirty-six views of Mt Fuji series 1826-33
colour woodblock
Katsushika HOKUSAI
This subject guide is to support the Year 11 ATAR VISUAL ART case study of
Hokusai
Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849) was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter, and printmaker during the Edo period. He is best-known for the woodblock print series 36 Views of Mount Fuji, which includes the iconic image, The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
(Artnet, n.d.)
Last updated: Feb, 2026
Freeman, L. (2017, May 27). Making waves: Hokusai wanted to paint everything, says Laura Freeman, and at 70 he was only just beginning. Spectator, 334(9848), 62+. Retrieved from Academic OneFile database.
Hokusai. (2020). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from Britannica School database.
Go via eResources on the Library Website. You can also find the Britannia article online here.
Hokusai. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-ukiyo-e-artists-you-need-to-know/BQKC6o0k2oBRLA
Hokusai Museum. (n.d.). Hokusai. Retrieved from https://hokusai-museum.jp/modules/Page/pages/view/401
Ingram, S., & Blair, A. (2019). Katsushika Hokusai. Retrieved from https://www.theartstory.org/artist/hokusai-katsushika/
Biographical information, key ideas, important artworks and analysis, influences, connections and more.
Katsushika Hokusai. (2006). In Encyclopedia of World Biography Online. Retrieved from Gale In Context High School database
Martin, A. (2018). Hokusai: Examining the enduring allure of a Japanese icon. The Japan Times. Retrieved from https://features.japantimes.co.jp/hokusai/
Artworks – Description, Subject Matter, Elements, Analysis and Meaning
Art History in Schools. (n.d.). Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) ‘Under the wave of Kanagawa’ c.1830. Retrieved from http://www.arthistoryinschools.org.uk/alevelresources
This document unpacks this work in art terms and concepts, along with outlining cultural, social, technological and political factors, developments in materials, techniques and processes, as well as ways it has been used and interpreted by past and present societies.
Asian Art Museum. (2010, January 5). Hokusai and Hiroshige: Great Japanese Prints from the James A. Michener Collection [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/VaP4wt1n3w0
BBC Bitesize. (n.d.). Proportion. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zxfsnbk/revision/6
Refers to ‘The Great Wave’ artwork to explain contrasting scales.
Caitlin, R. (2019, December 9). A great wave of Hokusai. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/great-wave-hokusai-180973693/
Harris, L. A. (n.d.). Hokusai, Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave). Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/japan-art/a/hokusai-under-the-wave-off-kanagawa-the-great-wave
Hokusai: 11 works. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://artsandculture.google.com/story/6gXBKLMQ_UC_6w
Hokusai: the influential work of Japanese artist famous for ‘the great wave’ – in pictures. (2017, July 21). The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2017/jul/21/hokusai-the-influential-work-of-japanese-artist-famous-for-the-great-wave-in-pictures
Library of Congress. (n.d.). The floating world of Ukiyo-e. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/intro.html
Nichols, K. (2018). Under the Wave off Kanagawa (also known as The Great Wave) (c. 1830-32) . Retrieved from https://www.theartstory.org/movement/ukiyo-e-japanese-woodblock-prints/artworks/#pnt_8
Nichols, K. (2018). Ejiri, Suruga Province (A Sudden Gust of Wind) (c. 1830-1832). Retrieved from https://www.theartstory.org/movement/ukiyo-e-japanese-woodblock-prints/artworks/#pnt_9
Nichols, K. (2018). Flock of Chickens (1830-1844). Retrieved from https://www.theartstory.org/movement/ukiyo-e-japanese-woodblock-prints/artworks/#pnt_10
Smarthistory. (2019, November 1). Beyond the Great Wave — Hokusai at 90 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/sTnZN08CQdI
The Art Assignment. (2017, May 12). Better know the Great Wave [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/video/better-know-the-great-wave-adxtdv/
Techniques & Style
Asia Art Museum. (n.d.). The evolution of ukiyo-e and woodblock prints. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/art-japan/edo-period/a/the-evolution-of-ukiyo-e-and-woodblock-prints
Seiferle, R. (2018). Ukiyo-e Japanese prints movement overview. Retrieved from https://www.theartstory.org/movement/ukiyo-e-japanese-woodblock-prints/
Victoria and Albert Museum. (n.d.). Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e). Retrieve from https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/japanese-woodblock-prints-ukiyo-e
Department of Asian Art. (2003). Art of the Edo period (1615–1868). In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Retrieved from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/edop/hd_edop.htm
Earns, L. R. (2016). Political stability and social control in Tokugawa Japan. In C. Chamberland (Ed.), Byzantine Empire to the 20th Century in World History. Retrieved from Gale Researcher database.
Library of Congress. (n.d.). The floating world of Ukiyo-e. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/intro.html
ARTE France. (2015). The eye of Hokasai [Video file]. Retrieved from ClickView database.
A documentary about the life and work of legendary 18th/19th century Japanese painter and print-maker Katsushika Hokusai.
Hickey, G. (2014, May 30). The Old Man, Mount Fuji and the Sea. Art Journal 44. Retrieved from https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/essay/the-old-man-mount-fuji-and-the-sea/
Hokusai: Learning Resources. (n.d). NGV. Retrieved from https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/school_resource/hokusai/
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (2015, July 1). Hokusai: The End of an Era [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/sM_z56RdKLs
Hokusai died in 1849, just four years before the opening of Japanese ports to the West dramatically altered Japanese culture. See how Hokusai’s art perspicaciously hinted of things to come, including a fascination with technology, curiosity about the outside world, and growing sense of Japan as a nation.
The British Museum. (2017). Hokusai: Old Man Crazy to Paint [Video file]. Retrieved from ClickView database.
A film biography of the world-renowned Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai.
Search the following Art Gallery websites:
Artnet. (n.d.). Hokusai. Retrieved from http://www.artnet.com/artists/katsushika-hokusai/biography
Great wave banner [Image]. (2008). Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Wave_banner.jpg