Katsushika Hokusai, born in 1760 in Edo (Tokyo), is regarded as one of Japan’s most famous and influential artists. He changed his name over 30 during the course of his career and up until his death in 1849 at the grand old age of 90 he produced marvellous works on plants, the waters around Japan and people. His most well-regarded work is the Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji series which includes the iconic Great Wave Off Kanazawa. A new exhibition will be running from 12 May to 13th August 2017 at the British Museum and will showcase the works in the latter third of his life, the last 30 years or so.

We have been studying Hokusai in our class as part of our sequence of work on woodblock printing and so I am interested in seeing this exhibition, however being a huge Japanophile also helps and so this exhibition is a must for me.