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Under the Wave off Kanagawa
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If Heaven will grant me but ten more years of life, with even five more years, I could become a true artist.
—Hokusai at age 89 years1(p272)
Katsushika Hokusai's (1760-1849) Under the Wave off Kanagawa is an iconic image of humanity facing the overpowering forces of nature. The breaking peak on the crest of a steep wave is the dominant image of turmoil in a restless sea while Mount Fuji, calm and steadfast, stands firmly in the background. Thus Hokusai contrasts the sanctity of the mountain with the seeming treachery of the sea. It is best viewed from right to left, making the threat from the great wave more apparent; this is how it would have been seen by Hokusai's contemporary Japanese audience. On 3 barges that are apparently conveying fish from the southern islands to Edo (now Tokyo), crew members cling to their boats and avert their gaze from . . . [Full Text of this Article]
James C. Harris, MD
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