Coaster - The Great Wave off Kanagawa

Artist: Katsushika Hokusai

Age: Edo Period (c. 1831) (Approx. 194 years old)

Part of Hokusai's famous series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, The Great Wave is perhaps the single most recognized work of Japanese art globally. This ukiyo-e woodblock print depicts a dramatic scene where an enormous, menacing wave (an okinami, or "wave of the open sea") rears up, its claw-like crest appearing ready to crash down on three small transport boats (oshiokuri-bune) caught in the trough below. The sailors cling to their oars, dwarfed by the immense power of nature. In the background, framed perfectly by the curve of the great wave, stands Mount Fuji, serene and snow-capped, rendered diminutive by the foreground's turbulent sea. Hokusai masterfully uses perspective and the vibrant Prussian blue pigment (newly available in Japan at the time) to create a composition of striking dynamism and visual tension. The contrast between the violent sea and the stable mountain, the human struggle against nature's might, and the intricate details of the breaking wave (foam resembling claws or snowflakes) have captivated audiences for generations. It exemplifies the ukiyo-e style's focus on transient moments and scenes from everyday life (or nature), elevated here to an iconic representation of natural power and Japanese aesthetics. Its influence on Western artists, particularly the Impressionists, was profound, contributing significantly to the Japonisme movement in Europe. The print embodies both beauty and terror, a sublime confrontation with the forces of the natural world.