A free virtual exhibition of 15 works by Katsushika Hokusai that you can walk through in your browser, on desktop or phone, with nothing to install. The room brings together Under the Wave off Kanagawa, better known as The Great Wave, and South Wind, Clear Sky, the so-called Red Fuji, alongside ghost prints, poetry prints and a delicate flower study.
About Katsushika Hokusai
Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) was a Japanese painter and printmaker of the Edo period and one of the great masters of ukiyo-e, the "pictures of the floating world." Over a career of roughly seventy years he worked under dozens of names and produced paintings, book illustrations, sketch manuals and thousands of prints. His series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, published around 1830–1832, made the landscape print a major genre in its own right and put the newly available Prussian blue pigment to striking use. Later series, such as One Hundred Ghost Stories and One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by the Nurse, show his range from the eerie to the lyrical. When Japanese prints reached Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century, Hokusai's bold compositions influenced Monet, Degas, Van Gogh and the wider wave of Japonisme. Today he is one of the most widely recognised artists in the world.
Highlights in this room
Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave)
A towering wave curls over three fishing boats while Mount Fuji sits small and calm in the distance. The contrast between the violent foreground and the still mountain is the heart of the composition. It is arguably the most reproduced image in Asian art, and seeing it among Hokusai's other work reminds you it was first a print in a series.
South Wind, Clear Sky (Red Fuji)
Hokusai reduces Mount Fuji to a single, bold silhouette glowing red in early morning light, set against a sky of rippling clouds. There are almost no details, only color and shape. It shows how daringly simple a woodblock design could be.
Shower Below the Summit
The same mountain appears again, but here the summit stays clear while lightning flashes and rain falls on its dark lower slopes. It is often paired with Red Fuji as a study in how weather transforms one subject.
Kohada Koheiji
From One Hundred Ghost Stories, this print shows the ghost of a murdered actor as a skeletal figure peering over a mosquito net. Hokusai turns a popular theatrical tale into something genuinely unsettling, with pale, sickly tones that suit the subject.
How to enjoy the exhibition
- Follow the blue. Hokusai was an early champion of Prussian blue. Walk up to a work and notice how the blue is printed in gradations, not as flat fills.
- Read the carved line. Every outline was cut by hand into a woodblock. Look at the spray of the Great Wave's crest to appreciate the carver's skill.
- Compare the Fuji views. Move between the Mount Fuji prints and see how the same mountain changes with weather, season and point of view.
- Let the poetry prints slow you down. Click a work to read its label; knowing which poem inspired a scene adds a quiet second layer.
- Notice the empty space. Hokusai leaves large areas of sky or water open. Stepping back lets those areas do their work.
If you enjoy this room, continue to the Utagawa Hiroshige virtual exhibition, Hokusai's great rival in landscape prints.
Create a room like this for your own work
This room was built with Xibit360, the same tool any artist can use. You can light and frame each work individually, set the mood with themes and layouts, exhibit video works alongside still images, and embed the finished room on your own website. A printmaker, for example, can show an edition as a series with its own labels. It is free to start, and upgrades are one-time purchases, with no subscription.
Know an artist who should see this?
If you know a painter, printmaker or photographer whose work deserves a space like this, send them this page. They can walk through the room above to see what is possible, and picture their own work on the walls.
FAQ
Is the Hokusai virtual exhibition free?
Yes. The exhibition is free to visit in your browser, and you can walk through all 15 works at your own pace.
Can I view it on my phone?
Yes. The same walkable space works on desktop and on phone, so you can explore the room wherever you are.
Is The Great Wave in the exhibition?
Yes. Under the Wave off Kanagawa, known worldwide as The Great Wave, is one of the 15 works in the room, together with two other views from Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.