"The text of this book is an expanded version of the 'Cohn' Lecture which I gave at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford in 1976, and the appendix of books with illustrations by Hokusai is intended to supersede the list that I first drew up for my 1954 Hokusai ... "--preface.

A deluxe, large-format edition of this beautifully illustrated introduction to Katsushika Hokusai, the most prolific artist of Japan's Edo period and master of ukiyo-e--"images of the floating world."

Hokusai was one of the great masters of the Japanese woodblock print. His exquisite compositions and dynamic use of color set him apart from other printmakers, and his unequalled genius influenced both Japanese and a whole generation of Western artists. Now available for the first time in paperback, this book reproduces the artist's finest works in plates that convey the full variety of his invention, each of which is provided with an informative commentary. In his introduction, Hokusai expert Matthi Forrer traces the artist's career and defines his place in relation to his contemporaries and to the history of Japanese art. Examining all genres of the artist's prolific output -- including images of city life, maritime scenes, landscapes, views of Mount Fuji, bird and flower illustrations, literary scenes, waterfalls and bridges -- Hokusai, Prints and Drawings provides a detailed account of the artist's genius.

This beautifully produced book draws on the latest research, illustrating the complete set of drawings, published for the first time.

A major publication on Hokusai's remarkable late work, incorporating fresh scholarship on the sublime paintings and prints the artist created in the last thirty years of his life

Published on the occasion of an exhibition held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, April 15, 2015-August 9, 2015.

Hokusai’s “Great Wave,” as it is commonly known today, is arguably one of Japan’s most successful exports, its commanding cresting profile instantly recognizable no matter how different its representations in media and style. In this richly illustrated and highly original study, Christine Guth examines the iconic wave from its first publication in 1831 through the remarkable range of its articulations, arguing that it has been a site where the tensions, contradictions, and, especially, the productive creativities of the local and the global have been negotiated and expressed. She follows the wave’s trajectory across geographies, linking its movements with larger political, economic, technological, and sociocultural developments. Adopting a case study approach, Guth explores issues that map the social life of the iconic wave across time and place, from the initial reception of the woodblock print in Japan, to the image’s adaptations as part of “international nationalism,” its place in American perceptions of Japan, its commercial adoption for lifestyle branding, and finally to its identification as a tsunami, bringing not culture but disaster in its wake. Wide ranging in scope yet grounded in close readings of disparate iterations of the wave, multidisciplinary and theoretically informed in its approach, Hokusai’s Great Wave will change both how we look at this global icon and the way we study the circulation of Japanese prints. This accessible and engagingly written work moves beyond the standard hagiographical approach to recognize, as categories of analysis, historical and geographic contingency as well as visual and technical brilliance. It is a book that will interest students of Japan and its culture and more generally those seeking fresh perspectives on the dynamics of cultural globalization.

A beautiful collection of Hokusai's prints, all from the largest collection of Japanese prints from outside of Japan The best known of all Japanese artists, Katsushika Hokusai was active as a painter, book illustrator and print designer throughout his ninety-year lifespan. Yet his most famous works of all - the colour woodblock landscape prints issued in series, beginning with Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji - were produced within a relatively short time, in an amazing burst of creative energy that lasted from about 1830 to 1836. Hokusai's landscapes not only revolutionized Japanese printmaking but within a few decades of his death had become icons of world art as well. With stunning colour reproductions of works from the largest collection of Japanese prints outside Japan, this book examines the magnetic appeal of Hokusai's designs and the circumstances of their creation. All published prints of his eight major landscape series are included.

Hokusai’s classic woodcut of a majestic wave becomes the starting point for a storybook children will want to read again and again. On a stormy winter’s day, a baby boy, Naoki, is swept into a fisherman’s boat by a great wave. Years pass, but still Naoki does not grow. Must he return to the ocean in order to become a young man? The answer arrives in the form of a mythic fish. Japanese artist Hokusai is one of the world’s most celebrated printmakers. His famous woodcut, "The Great Wave," epitomizes the artist’s characteristic techniques and themes. In this children’s book, the artist’s masterpiece is the genesis for a simple but compelling story, beautifully illustrated in pictures that recall Hokusai’s brilliant use of detail, perspective and color. A stunning reproduction of the woodcut itself is featured in the book, supplemented by information about the artist and his work. At once modern and classic, The Great Wave introduces young readers to a beloved artist and his timeless portrayals of nature and transformation.

Considered Hokusai's masterpiece, this series of images -- which first appeared in the 1830s in three small volumes -- captures the simple, elegant shape of Mount Fuji from every angle and in every context.