In the pop-up exhibition ‘Hokusai. The Great Wave’ two copies of this woodcut, on loan from private collections, will be display in an intimate setting for your viewing pleasure. Experience the energy and contrast in Hokusai’s work and discover his influence on both his Japanese contemporaries and Western artists in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. The prints are from both private and museum collections and will only be on display for 5 weeks.

36 faces on Fuji

Around 1828, Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) and publisher Nishimuraya Yohachi joined forces in an ambitious plan to issue a series of large landscape prints. Until then, these prints were always in small format. With the emerging travel culture and the related production of souvenirs, the series ’Thirty-Six Faces on Mount Fuji’ became a great commercial success. Several prints from this series can be seen in the exhibition.

Hokusai's Influence

Hokusai’s success did not go unnoticed. His great foaming claws inspired his Japanese contemporaries such as Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) and Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861). They integrated the dynamics of the Wave in their own way into several masterpieces. The image of the Wave also found its way to Europe. The manner in which French and Dutch artists dealt with Hokusai’s threatening composition can be seen in a select number of prints.

Iconic Image

Today, Hokusai’s Great wave, the only non-Western work of art, has earned its place in the list of the most recognizable and iconic images in the history of art. It fits between Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’, the ‘Scream’ by Edvard Munch and Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’. It is the most reproduced image ever to have been created. The composition continues to invite creativity and imagination. Contemporary objects in this exhibition bear witness to this fact.

Visit Japan Museum SieboldHuis this summer and marvel at the beauty of this masterpiece firsthand. Don’t miss it!

Information and Activities

This exhibition comes with a free illustrated information booklet. A wide variety of activities offer a deeper look into Hokusai’s work and Japanese prints. Japan Museum SieboldHuis and the Youth and Community Foundation have created a programme especially for this exhibition.

This exhibition was made possible by: het ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, de gemeente Leiden, de Universiteit Leiden, Het Cultuurfonds, Mondriaan Fonds, Fonds 21, de stichting Isaac Alfred Ailion Foundation, Takeda Nederland B.V., Leiden, Stad van Ontdekkingen en de Vrienden van Japanmuseum SieboldHuis.