Sumida Hokusai Museum

‘Under the Wave off Kanagawa’, commonly known as the ‘Great Wave’, is an 1831 print by woodblock master Katsushika Hokusai that has become one of the defining images of Japan. This masterpiece has even been selected to appear on the country’s redesigned ¥1,000 banknote, which will be issued from July 2024. That posthumous glory for Hokusai is celebrated by this exhibition at the architecturally stunning museum dedicated to the artist, located in Tokyo’s Sumida, where he was born and spent most of his life. Celebrated both in its homeland and across the world, the ‘Great Wave’ establishes Japanese culture as being deeply linked with the powerful ocean that surrounds the archipelago, and with Mt Fuji, which looms on the work’s horizon. The exhibition consists of a fascinating look at the ‘Great Wave’’s background, as part of both Hokusai’s ‘Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji’ series and a broader body of work similarly depicting the Kanagawa coast, followed by an exploration of how the image has been used worldwide as its fame and influence have risen. From this summer, the ‘Great Wave’ is set to become yet more iconic. The exhibition is closed on Monday (except July 15, Aug 12) as well as July 16 and Aug 13.