1.Great Wave off Kanagawa 神奈川沖浪裏

A masterpiece not only representing Hokusai’s works but also standing as one of the greatest achievements in Japanese painting. When faced with this iconic piece, the first thing that captures the eye is undoubtedly the raging wave.

Towering as if to tear through the sky, the wave is on the verge of swallowing the boats beneath it.

Yet, what Hokusai captured was more than just that.

The title, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, suggests a scene from Sagami Bay. However, considering the positioning of Mount Fuji, some argue that it depicts the rough seas off the Bōsō Peninsula instead.
Most likely, Hokusai blended elements of both.

The boats tossed about by the waves are oshiokuri-bune, high-speed cargo boats.
The rowers grip their oars desperately—if they stop, they cannot move forward.
While these boats are resistant to wind, they are vulnerable to the waves, much like humans themselves.

The movement of the boats and the struggle of the rowers are vividly conveyed.

Yet, upon closer inspection, beside the massive wave on the left, there is another wave.
This one, too, is quite large, but its splashes are deliberately simplified.
Hokusai painted only what was necessary, and nothing more.
This aesthetic of omission is one of the defining characteristics of his work.

Moreover, the blue portions of the waves feature striped patterns created using two shades of indigo.
Without these, the waves would appear as mere masses of water, devoid of speed and energy.

These stripes emerge as water moves at different speeds within the wave.
Hokusai masterfully stylized and translated this phenomenon into his composition.

And in the background, Mount Fuji stands in quiet majesty.
The ever-moving waves contrast with the unchanging presence of the mountain, drawing the viewer’s eye to their dynamic opposition.

Within this painting, the waves are undeniably in motion.
Yet, Fuji remains still.
Its stillness amplifies the violent energy of the sea.

Ordinarily, the fleeting motion of the waves and the eternal presence of Fuji would never meet.
Yet, Hokusai brings them together within a single frame, balancing them in perfect harmony.

Herein lies Hokusai’s discerning eye for beauty.

01

If you were to paint Mount Fuji bathed in the morning sun, turning red in its glow, what kind of clouds would you place in the background sky? Many might think of a calm summer sky—delicate cirrus or cirrocumulus clouds stretching softly across the horizon.

But Hokusai thought differently.

What he chose were "lenticular clouds," formations that often appear in autumn and winter. These clouds, shaped like floating lenses in the sky, create an otherworldly presence.

The word "Gaifū" (凱風) refers to the southern winds of summer. In other words, Mount Fuji in this painting is basking in the summer morning sun. And yet, the clouds depicted are those that typically belong to the skies of autumn and winter.

Two different seasons coexist within the same image.

This was no accident. Hokusai never merely painted what he saw. To him, compositional balance was far more important. If he had simply painted soft, summery clouds, the sky’s impression would have been too weak against the overwhelming presence of Fuji. That is precisely why he deliberately chose lenticular clouds, spreading them across the sky.

The lush green at the base of the mountain represents Fuji’s true color, untouched by the morning light. The scattered black spots within it—highly abstracted—depict trees in their most simplified form. Hokusai omitted the unnecessary, leaving only what was essential. This approach to composition is one of his defining characteristics.

Among the Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, only two works depict Fuji itself as the undisputed main subject: Gaifū Kaisei (South Wind, Clear Sky) and Sanka Hakuu (Rainstorm Beneath the Summit). In neither of these did Hokusai resort to the dull convention of portraying Fuji in perfect symmetry.

The immovable Fuji and the drifting clouds. The boldness of Hokusai’s vision lies in placing the seemingly unmixable elements of "Red Fuji" and "lenticular clouds" together in a single composition.

Herein lies Hokusai’s discerning eye for beauty.