The Great Wave by Hokusai: Great Art Explained

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This is the kind of stuff you watch to procrastinate without guilt. Love your videos!

I have a puzzle of the great wave framed in my bedroom and just finished reading a book on Hokusai himself. I'm still pondering about something he said: ‘Until the age of 70, nothing I drew was worthy of notice. When I reach 80 years I hope to have made increasing progress, and at 90 to see further into the underlying principles of things, so that at 100 years I will have achieved a divine state in my art and at 110 every dot and every stroke will be as though alive.’ I love this mentality of continuously growing and learning, because it shows that age is not a limit when it comes to developing oneself; quite the contrary.

Some extra trivia for those who didn’t notice the soundtrack: a very famous piece of music that was inspired by the Great Wave was Debussy’s “La Mer”.

I’m an art teacher and showing these to my students is a great way to get them interested in learning art history! Thanks so much

"Everything I've done before the age of seventy is not worth bothering with." Man, what a balm for my anxious soul worrying about having reached 30...! I think I needed to hear that xd

The cool thing about prints like these is that there isn't an original. Having it as a poster is as authentic as the first print. That's what it's supposed to be.

What I love about these videos is that they give historical context. I was always told in Art class that Europeans were heavily inspired by the Japanese, but just now I could finally understand why it made a huge impact on them.

I turn 70 this year, so I guess I'd better get started with the best part of my life. Oh boy!

I've had a picture of that painting up on a wall for 3 years, only just now seeing the boats... I gotta start paying more attention to stuff, geez

I'm a scientist with great enthusiasm for art but not a lot of knowledge of it. Channels like this one help fill the gaps in my long but specialized education. This makes me so grateful to live in the era of the internet and of content creators.

Please leave a comment (even a short one) and "like" the video. It really helps promote the channel on YouTube. I appreciate it! James

One of the biggest commodities at this time in Edo (now Tokyo) was fresh seasonal fish. You figure that Japan being an island would have all sorts of fish throughout the entire year, but it happens that the warm seasonal currents of the Pacifics would bring different schools of fish like mackerel and tuna at different times. The three intrepid boats in Hokusai's The Wave are not fishermen, but teamster delivery boats that were known for their speed and bravery in facing the rough sea surrounding the island. The team consisted of 10 strong men, 8 rowing nonstop with 2 alternating and resting every so often. In the wood print, you actually can see the team rowing in the back of the boats and the two extra men resting in between the team and the precious cargo at the front of the boat. These boats were designed to cut through the giant waves and were airtight so that even if the waves would crush over them they could continue rowing through them. Needless to say that these men were considered to be the Dare Devils of the sea and idealized by common people. A perfect subject for Hokusai who was well known for depicting the working class.

I’m Japanese and love this era of art but wow, your research has given me all new understanding, thank you 🙏🏼

The skill of the woodcarvers is crazy.

Being a Japanese, I must admit a fact: I'm taken aback, although the most of the nation would share the sensation. This can't be found in ordinary common knowledge of the public. An impressive content with awe sprinkled everywhere. Greatly appreciated for an elaborate work backed with wide & deep researches on top of a pick of Hokusai!

Super summary, thank you! The only thing I didn't hear you mention is the fact that Westerners interpret the image from left to right, but Japanese people interpret the image from right to left. This changes it from "giant wave about to engulf fishing boats" (Western reading) to "fishing boats approach giant wave" (Japanese reading) which is a subtle but meaningful difference. Nevertheless, great video!

The last name (The most left column 11:56 ) of Hokusai is "画狂老人卍" (Gakyo Rojin Manji) which means Painting-Crazy Old Man Manji (Fortune Symbol).

When the image transposed from The Great Wave to Starry Night, I gasped a little bit and got goose bumps. Those are the kinds of little secrets and back-stories that absolutely intrigue me and your videos never disappoint to provide them. I can't wait for the next video!!

I don't know why YouTube recommended this but I am so happy it did. The knowledge being offered is astounding