Hokusai, The Great Wave, 1830, woodblock
I believe that we all recognize the chaos and challenges we are living through today. But we must face them with courage and determination and hope. Hokusai’s “Great Wave” is a beautiful example of courage in the midst of chaos.
Katsushika Hokusai (c. 31 October 1760 – 10 May 1849), known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese artist of “ukiyo-e”, which means “floating world”, referring to the temporary nature of life. He expressed this through his woodblocks and paintings. Born in Edo (now Tokyo), Hokusai is best known as an artist of the woodblock print series, “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji”, which includes the internationally renown print, “The Great Wave“. Hokusai is considered by many Western artists, critics, and art lovers alike, as the most prominent Asian artist.
Hokusai draws the viewer into the foreground by placing a threatening gigantic wave about to crash down on three fishing boats. We feel the panic of the oarsman struggling to survive. As the wave breaks, its foam forms a claw-like crest ready to devour the boat and oarsmen who appear insignificant. The wave creates an empty space. Many art scholars believe that this space allows us to see Hokusai’s central focus, a small but solid Mt Fuji. The mountain is a symbol of strength and power of an isolated Japan, vulnerable to foreign attack. In the Buddhist tradition, Mt. Fuji, the sacred and tallest mountain in Japan, held the secret to immortality (Fuji means “not death”). Hokusai focuses on one wave that is about to break. The wave and the oarsmen are frozen in time.
The great wave moves left to right like Westerners read. Hokusai uses geometry to build the composition. Circles and triangles allow our eyes to move around the print. A diagonal line connects the great wave to Mt. Fuji. A smaller wave is in front of the great wall of water and echoes the shape of Mt. Fuji in the background. These simple shapes suggest motion and create visual dynamics. The new and vibrant synthetic pigment from Europe, Prussian blue, creates subtle highlights on the water and definition in the waves. Dark blue, a “cool” color, is pervasive throughout the woodcut and emits the feeling of powerlessness. Hokusai makes a curl between the wave and the sky; it resembles the yin/yang symbol. The sea is stormy, yet the sun continues to shine.
Hokusai is asking us to reflect upon the tranquil moment before a wave breaks and chaos erupts. One cannot predict Nature. Waves can be deadly. They can destroy us or we can go with the flow and believe in ourselves and fight.
