The "Great Wave" belongs to the series of the "Thirsty six views of Mount Fuji" by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), one of the masters of ukiyo-e, a Japanese term meaning "images of the floating world".

In this print, however, Mount Fuji is in the background and appears very distant, as the wave overwhelms the composition.

Our eyes are drawn to the wave, with its foam almost looking like snow. In this stamp, one wonders: what belongs to the earth and what belongs to the to the sea?

The Wave looks monstruous and threatening. Fisherman are trying, in vain, to curb the flow of the raging sea. 

These three fishing boats are probably oshiokuri-bune, which were used to supply Edo, then the capital city of Japan with one million inhabitants, with fish, rice and vegetables.

There were multiple copies of each woodblock print, which were not meant to last. Their colours would thus quickly fade in daylight.

This is why in a museum context we show prints for about 3 months before they go back into our storage for 3 years.

"Under the Great Wave off Kanagawa" has become much more than a woodblock print and has reached an iconic status in popular culture.

Since the end of the 19th century, "The Great Wave" has fed our imagination, from Claude Monet to the number of by-products it has inspired.

Its impact is so strong that it will be featured on Japanese 1000 yen banknotes from 2024.

The Wave is composed of several shades of blue, including Prussian blue, a very innovative technique at the time of its making in 1830.

In order to make a woordblock print, each shade required one printing phase which would then be adjusted onto the other. It is worth noting that early prints, originating from China, were monochromic!