Hokusai

2.1. Childhood and Family Background

Hokusai's date of birth is often stated as the 23rd day of the 9th month of the 10th year of the Hōreki era in the Japanese calendar, corresponding to October 31, 1760. He was born into an artisan family in the Katsushika district of Edo, the capital of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate, which is now Katsushika-ku, Tokyo. His childhood name was Tokitarō. It is widely believed that his father was Nakajima Ise, a mirror-maker for the shōgun. However, Hokusai was never made his father's heir, leading to speculation that his mother might have been a concubine or that he was adopted into the Nakajima family around age four. Some theories suggest he was born into the Kawamura family and later adopted by Nakajima Ise, or that his mother was a granddaughter of Kira Kōzuke-no-suke. Hokusai himself recalled that he began drawing around the age of six, possibly learning from his father, whose work involved painting designs on mirrors.

2.2. Apprenticeship and Early Career

At the age of 12, Hokusai's father sent him to work in a bookshop and lending library, a popular establishment in Japanese cities where woodcut books provided entertainment for the middle and upper classes. This early exposure to printed materials likely influenced his future career. At 14, he began an apprenticeship as a woodcarver, a skill that would prove fundamental to his mastery of woodblock prints. He continued in this trade until he was 18, when he entered the studio of Katsukawa Shunshō, a leading artist of ukiyo-e and head of the Katsukawa school. This marked the official beginning of Hokusai's career as an ukiyo-e artist.

After a year in Shunshō's studio, Hokusai received his first artistic name, Shunrō, from his master. Under this name, he published his first prints in 1779, a series depicting kabuki actors. During the decade he spent with Shunshō, Hokusai married his first wife, who died in the early 1790s. He remarried in 1797, but his second wife also passed away shortly thereafter. He had two sons and three daughters with his two wives. His youngest daughter, Ei, also known as Ōi, later became an accomplished artist and served as his assistant. A notable work from this period is Fireworks in the Cool of Evening at Ryogoku Bridge in Edo, created around 1788-1789.

2.3. Artistic Development and Name Changes

Upon Shunshō's death in 1793, Hokusai began to explore artistic styles beyond the conventions of the Katsukawa school, which traditionally focused on images of courtesans (bijin-ga) and kabuki actors (yakusha-e). He was exposed to European styles through French and Dutch copper engravings, which he actively sought to acquire. His studies at the rival Kanō school led to his expulsion from the Katsukawa school by Shunkō, Shunshō's chief disciple. Hokusai later described this event as a pivotal moment, stating that the "embarrassment I suffered at Shunkō's hands" truly motivated the development of his artistic style.

Freed from the constraints of a single school, Hokusai broadened his thematic focus, shifting away from traditional ukiyo-e subjects to depict landscapes and scenes of daily life across various social strata. This thematic expansion was a significant breakthrough in both ukiyo-e art and Hokusai's career. Throughout his lifetime, Hokusai was known to use at least thirty different names, a practice more frequent than any other major Japanese artist. These name changes often corresponded to significant shifts in his artistic production and style, serving as convenient markers for different periods of his long career. For instance, he briefly used the name Gunbatei around 1786, possibly due to issues with the Katsukawa school, before adopting the name Sōri.

3.1. Independent Artistic Pursuits

The period following his departure from the Katsukawa school saw Hokusai's association with the Tawaraya School, leading to his adoption of the name "Tawaraya Sōri" from around 1795 to 1804. During this time, he produced numerous privately commissioned prints for special occasions, known as surimono, and illustrations for kyōka ehon, books of humorous poems. In 1798, Hokusai passed the name Sōri to a pupil and embarked on his career as an independent artist, free from school affiliations for the first time. He briefly adopted the name Hokusai Tomisa before settling on the name he would become most widely known by, Katsushika Hokusai, around 1800. The "Katsushika" part referred to his birthplace in Edo, while "Hokusai" (北斎^Japanese; "North Studio") was an abbreviation of "Hokushinsai" (北辰際^Japanese; "North Star Studio"), honoring the North Star, a symbol of the deity Myōken in his Nichiren Buddhism faith.

By 1800, Hokusai was actively expanding the use of ukiyo-e beyond portraiture. That year, he published two collections of landscapes, Famous Sights of the Eastern Capital and Eight Views of Edo (modern Tokyo). His growing reputation also attracted students, and he eventually taught around 50 pupils throughout his life. Hokusai became increasingly famous over the next decade, not only for his artwork but also for his talent for self-promotion. During an Edo festival in 1804, he created an enormous portrait of the Buddhist prelate Daruma, reportedly 2153 ft^{2 (200 m2)} in size, using a broom and buckets of ink. Another anecdote recounts his invitation to the shōgun Tokugawa Ienari's court to compete with a traditional brushstroke artist. Hokusai famously painted a blue curve on paper, then had a chicken, whose feet were dipped in red paint, run across the image. He presented the painting to the shōgun as a landscape depicting the Tatsuta River with red maple leaves floating on it, winning the competition.

3.2. Collaboration and Notable Works

Between 1804 and 1815, Hokusai collaborated with the popular novelist Takizawa Bakin on a series of illustrated books. Their most notable collaboration was the fantasy novel Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki (Strange Tales of the Crescent Moon, 1807-1811), featuring Minamoto no Tametomo as the protagonist. Hokusai gained significant acclaim for his creative and powerful illustrations, but the collaboration eventually ended after thirteen works due to their discordant personalities and conflicting opinions on artistic execution.

During this period, Hokusai also created several albums of erotic art (shunga). His most famous image in this genre is The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife, from Kinoe no Komatsu, a three-volume shunga book published in 1814, which depicts a young woman sexually entwined with a pair of octopuses. Hokusai paid meticulous attention to the production quality of his work. In letters concerning Toshisen Ehon, a Japanese edition of Chinese poetry, he criticized blockcutters for deviating from his style, even providing examples of his preferred eye and nose illustrations compared to the Utagawa school style.

In 1811, at the age of 51, Hokusai adopted the name Taito, marking a period focused on creating the Hokusai Manga and various etehon, or art manuals. These manuals, starting with Quick Lessons in Simplified Drawing in 1812, served both as a source of income and a means to attract more students. The first volume of Manga (meaning "random drawings") was published in 1814 and achieved immediate success. By 1820, he had produced twelve volumes (with three more published posthumously), containing thousands of humorous drawings of objects, plants, animals, religious figures, and everyday people. On October 5, 1817, he painted the Great Daruma outside the Hongan-ji Nagoya Betsuin in Nagoya. This immense ink-on-paper portrait, measuring 59 ft ^{(18 m)} by 35 ft ^{(10.8 m)}, attracted huge crowds and earned him the nickname "Darusen" (Daruma Master). Although the original was destroyed in 1945, promotional handbills from the event are preserved at the Nagoya City Museum.

4.1. Period of "Iitsu"

In 1820, Hokusai changed his name once more, this time to Iitsu. This period marked his widespread recognition as an artist throughout Japan. His most celebrated work, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, was produced in the early 1830s. This series includes his two most famous prints: The Great Wave off Kanagawa and Fine Wind, Clear Morning (also known as "Red Fuji"). In The Great Wave, Hokusai masterfully employed Western perspective, a technique he had explored in his Manga series, to convey depth and volume, a revolutionary approach in Japanese art at the time. The series proved so immensely popular that an additional ten prints were later added to the original thirty-six.

During this prolific period, Hokusai also produced other acclaimed print series, including A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces, which depicted famous waterfalls across Japan, Oceans of Wisdom, and Unusual Views of Celebrated Bridges in the Provinces, showcasing his innovative compositions of various landscapes and architectural marvels. He also began creating highly detailed individual images of flowers and birds, known as kachō-e, such as the exquisitely rendered Poppies and Flock of Chickens.

4.2. Period of "Gakyō Rōjin Manji"

The final and perhaps most introspective phase of Hokusai's career began in 1834, when he started working under the name "Gakyō Rōjin Manji" (画狂老人卍^Japanese; "The Old Man Mad About Art"). It was during this time that he produced One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, another significant landscape series, widely considered "the masterpiece among his landscape picture books."

In the colophon to this work, Hokusai famously articulated his lifelong dedication to art and his aspirations for continued growth:
"From the age of six, I had a passion for copying the form of things and since the age of fifty I have published many drawings, yet of all I drew by my seventieth year there is nothing worth taking into account. At seventy-three years I partly understood the structure of animals, birds, insects and fishes, and the life of grasses and plants. And so, at eighty-six I shall progress further; at ninety I shall even further penetrate their secret meaning, and by one hundred I shall perhaps truly have reached the level of the marvellous and divine. When I am one hundred and ten, each dot, each line will possess a life of its own."

Other notable works from his later life include A True Mirror of Chinese and Japanese Poetry (Shika shashin kyo), produced around 1833-1834, which featured extra-long vertical prints resembling Chinese hand scrolls, combining poems with scenes from China, Japan, and Noh plays. His final print series, One Hundred Poems Explained by a Nurse (Hyakunin isshu tuba ga etoki), created around 1835-1836, was never fully published, possibly due to financial difficulties faced by his publishers during an economic downturn.

In 1839, a fire destroyed Hokusai's studio and much of his work. By this time, his career was beginning to fade as younger artists such as Andō Hiroshige became increasingly popular. At the age of 83, Hokusai traveled to Obuse in Shinano Province (now Nagano Prefecture) at the invitation of wealthy farmer Takai Kozan, where he resided for several years. During his time in Obuse, he created several masterpieces, including the ceiling paintings Masculine Wave and Feminine Wave for festival floats, and the Eight-Direction Phoenix for the Ganshō-in temple. Between 1842 and 1843, in what he called "daily exorcisms" (nisshin joma), Hokusai painted Chinese lions (shishi) every morning as a talisman against misfortune. He continued painting almost until his death, producing The Dragon of Smoke Escaping from Mt Fuji and Tiger in the Snow in early 1849. On his deathbed, he reportedly exclaimed, "If only Heaven will give me just another ten years... Just another five more years, then I could become a real painter," demonstrating his lifelong pursuit of artistic perfection. He died on May 10, 1849, and was buried at the Seikyō-ji temple in Tokyo.

5.1. Evolution of Style

Hokusai's artistic style underwent significant transformations throughout his long career. Initially, as a student of Katsukawa Shunshō, he adhered to the conventions of the Katsukawa school, focusing on bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women) and yakusha-e (pictures of kabuki actors). However, his expulsion from the school spurred him to explore diverse artistic influences. He delved into the styles of other Japanese schools, such as the Rinpa school (evident in his "Sōri" period) and the Kanō school, and importantly, he absorbed elements of Western art.

Hokusai was an early experimenter with Western linear perspective among Japanese artists, a technique he applied to create depth and volume in his compositions, notably seen in The Great Wave off Kanagawa. He also studied European copper engravings, which introduced him to concepts like chiaroscuro (the use of strong contrasts between light and dark) and more realistic depictions of light and shadow. His work evolved from elegant and somewhat conventional designs to bold, expressive compositions with dynamic lines and innovative viewpoints, such as the bird's-eye perspective he frequently employed in his landscape series. This continuous evolution, marked by frequent changes in his artistic names, reflected his constant desire to push boundaries and refine his craft.

5.2. Themes and Subjects

Hokusai's thematic range was exceptionally broad, encompassing virtually every aspect of the natural world and human experience. He is most renowned for his landscapes, particularly his iconic depictions of Mount Fuji in series like Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji and One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji. Beyond Fuji, he captured the majesty of nature in series such as A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces and Oceans of Wisdom, which explored various water forms and fishing scenes.

His fascination with the natural world extended to detailed depictions of birds and flowers (kachō-e), showcasing his keen observation and delicate brushwork. Hokusai also extensively portrayed scenes of daily life, capturing the customs, occupations, and leisure activities of people from all social levels in Edo-period Japan. His works included historical and mythical figures, reflecting his engagement with traditional Japanese narratives. Furthermore, Hokusai produced shunga (erotic art), a genre that, while sometimes controversial, was a recognized part of ukiyo-e and allowed him to explore themes of human desire and intimacy with remarkable detail and inventiveness, as exemplified by "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife."

5.3. Techniques and Media

Hokusai demonstrated mastery across a wide array of artistic media and techniques. He is best known for his woodblock prints (ukiyo-e), which allowed for mass production and wide dissemination of his art. He excelled in creating both single-sheet prints (ichimai-e) and elaborate privately commissioned prints (surimono), which often featured intricate designs and luxurious materials. His technical prowess in woodblock printing is evident in his meticulous instructions to blockcutters, ensuring that the final prints accurately reflected his artistic vision, even demanding corrections to previously cut blocks.

Beyond prints, Hokusai was a prolific painter (nikuhitsuga), producing a vast number of hand-painted works on silk and paper. His paintings varied in subject from beautiful women and historical figures to animals and landscapes, often showcasing a different level of detail and spontaneity compared to his prints. He also created drawings and sketches, notably the thousands of images compiled in his Hokusai Manga series, which served as a compendium of forms and figures for his students and other artists.

Hokusai was a significant illustrator for books and manuals, including yomihon (illustrated novels), kyōkabon (books of humorous poems), and ehon (art manuals). These illustrated books were crucial for disseminating his ideas and teaching his techniques. His experimental approach extended to the use of new materials, most notably the imported synthetic pigment Prussian blue (bero-ai), which allowed for a richer, more vibrant range of blues and contributed to the "blue revolution" in ukiyo-e landscapes. This innovative use of color, combined with his exploration of Western perspective, allowed him to achieve unprecedented effects in his landscape compositions.

6.1. Print Series

Hokusai is most renowned for his groundbreaking woodblock print series, which often explored a single theme through multiple perspectives.

6.1.1. Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji

Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽三十六景^Japanese; Fugaku Sanjūrokkei) was produced between 1830 and 1834. This series of large-format nishiki-e (brocade prints) is Hokusai's most famous. It originally comprised 36 prints but was so popular that an additional 10 were added, bringing the total to 46. The series depicts Mount Fuji from various locations and in different seasons and weather conditions, showcasing Hokusai's mastery of composition and perspective.

"The Great Wave off Kanagawa" (神奈川沖浪裏^Japanese; Kanagawa-oki Nami Ura) is the most iconic print from this series, known for its dramatic depiction of a giant wave threatening boats with Mount Fuji in the background. It is one of the most recognized works of Japanese art worldwide.
"Fine Wind, Clear Morning" (凱風快晴^Japanese; Gaifū kaisei), also known as "Red Fuji," is another celebrated print from the series, capturing the mountain bathed in the morning sun.
Hokusai was one of the first Japanese artists to extensively use Prussian blue (bero-ai), an imported synthetic pigment, in this series, allowing for vibrant and deep blue tones that were revolutionary at the time.

6.2. Illustrated Books and Manuals

Hokusai was a prolific illustrator, creating numerous books that served as both entertainment and artistic instruction.

6.3. Paintings and Drawings

Beyond his celebrated prints and illustrated books, Hokusai produced a substantial body of unique paintings (nikuhitsuga) and drawings.

6.3.2. Obuse Ceiling Paintings

• During his stay in Obuse (1844-1848), Hokusai created several large-scale masterpieces, including the ceiling paintings for festival floats: Masculine Wave and Feminine Wave (1845), and the impressive Eight-Direction Phoenix (八方睨み鳳凰図^Japanese; Happō Nirami Hōō-zu) for the Ganshō-in temple. These works demonstrate his continued vitality and grand scale in his late years.

7.1. Family and Relationships

Hokusai was married twice during his lifetime. Very little is known about his first wife, who died in the early 1790s. He remarried in 1797, but his second wife also passed away after a short period. With these two wives, Hokusai fathered two sons and three daughters.

His youngest daughter, Ei (also known as Ōi), was also an accomplished artist and became his dedicated assistant, living with him until his death. She played a significant role in his later career, assisting him with his work and managing his chaotic household. His eldest daughter, Omiyo, married his pupil Yanagawa Shigenobu but later returned home with her child after a divorce, causing Hokusai considerable financial and personal distress due to his grandson's misbehavior. His sons, Tominosuke and Takichirō (later Sakijūrō), pursued different paths; Tominosuke reportedly took up mirror-making but was wayward and died young, while Sakijūrō was adopted into the Kase family and became a samurai, later pursuing haikai poetry. Hokusai's family life was often fraught with challenges, including financial struggles exacerbated by his grandson's gambling habits, which forced Hokusai to frequently change residences.

7.2. Pseudonyms and Lifestyle

Hokusai was famously known for his frequent changes of names, using at least thirty different pseudonyms throughout his life, a number that far exceeded that of any other major Japanese artist. These name changes were not merely arbitrary but often marked significant shifts in his artistic style, thematic focus, or life stage. For example, he transitioned from Shunrō to Sōri, then to Hokusai, Taito, Iitsu, and finally, Gakyō Rōjin Manji ("The Old Man Mad About Art"), each name signaling a new artistic phase or a renewed commitment to his craft. The practice of giving names to disciples was also a source of income for him.

His lifestyle was notoriously unconventional and nomadic. It is said that he moved over 90 times in his lifetime, with some accounts claiming he moved 56 times by the age of 75. Anecdotes suggest he would move whenever his living space became too cluttered or dirty due to his intense focus on art and neglect of household chores. He was known for his indifference to material possessions, often wearing rough, homespun cotton clothes, even if they were torn. He was also indifferent to food preparation, often eating whatever was available or delivered. Despite his often impoverished circumstances and chaotic living conditions, Hokusai maintained an unwavering dedication to his art, working almost until his final breath. His deathbed wish, to have "just another ten years... Just another five more years, then I could become a real painter," epitomizes his lifelong, insatiable pursuit of artistic perfection.

7.3. Artistic Philosophy

Hokusai's profound dedication to art is evident in his writings and anecdotes from his later life. In the colophon to his One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, published in 1834, he famously articulated his lifelong pursuit of artistic mastery:
"From the age of six, I had a passion for copying the form of things and since the age of fifty I have published many drawings, yet of all I drew by my seventieth year there is nothing worth taking into account. At seventy-three years I partly understood the structure of animals, birds, insects and fishes, and the life of grasses and plants. And so, at eighty-six I shall progress further; at ninety I shall even further penetrate their secret meaning, and by one hundred I shall perhaps truly have reached the level of the marvellous and divine. When I am one hundred and ten, each dot, each line will possess a life of its own."

This sentiment was echoed in the preface to his 1848 manual, Picture Book on the Use of Coloring (Ehon Saishikitsū), where he expressed his intent to reveal all his accumulated artistic knowledge and his aspiration to reform painting even at 100 years old. Anecdotes from his disciples, such as Tsuyuki Tameichi, recount Hokusai weeping at age 80, lamenting that he still couldn't draw a single cat properly, demonstrating his relentless self-criticism and insatiable desire for improvement. Art historians note that Hokusai's creative drive remained undiminished even in his old age, a rare trait among artists.

8.1. Influence on Japanese Art

Hokusai's contributions were pivotal in the development of ukiyo-e and influenced subsequent generations of Japanese artists. He broadened the scope of ukiyo-e beyond its traditional focus on courtesans and actors, introducing landscapes, nature, and scenes of everyday life as prominent subjects. This thematic expansion, combined with his innovative compositional techniques and experimental use of color (such as Prussian blue), revolutionized the genre.

His Hokusai Manga, a collection of thousands of sketches, served as an invaluable resource and inspiration for countless artists and artisans, providing a visual encyclopedia of forms, figures, and techniques. While some contemporary artists, like Kuwagata Keisai, criticized Hokusai for allegedly imitating others, his unique ability to synthesize various styles and continually innovate ultimately set new standards for artistic expression in Japan. Even later masters like Andō Hiroshige, while achieving their own distinct fame, acknowledged Hokusai's pioneering role in landscape prints. Hokusai's work pushed the boundaries of woodblock printing, demonstrating its potential for complex narratives and detailed naturalistic depictions, thereby laying groundwork for future artistic endeavors in Japan.

8.2. Influence on Western Art

Hokusai's influence on Western art was immense, primarily through the phenomenon of Japonisme that swept across Europe in the late 19th century. Japanese art, particularly ukiyo-e prints, began to arrive in Paris around 1856, captivating artists and collectors. The French printmaker Félix Bracquemond is credited with being one of the first to discover a copy of Hokusai Manga, which profoundly influenced his "Rousseau Service" dinnerware, exhibited successfully at the 1867 Paris Universal Exposition.

Hokusai's woodcuts were collected by many prominent European artists, including Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Gustav Klimt, Franz Marc, August Macke, Édouard Manet, and most notably, Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet. Degas reportedly stated, "Hokusai is not just one artist among others in the Floating World. He is an island, a continent, a whole world in himself." His use of bold outlines, flat areas of color, and innovative perspectives deeply resonated with Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters, inspiring them to break away from traditional Western artistic conventions. Monet, for instance, drew inspiration from Hokusai's floral works for his Water Lilies series and from the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji for his own series on Rouen Cathedral, exploring similar themes of light and atmosphere. The "whiplash motif" (Peitschenhieb) of Hermann Obrist, a defining characteristic of Art Nouveau and Jugendstil, also shows clear influence from Hokusai's dynamic lines.

Beyond visual arts, Hokusai inspired the French composer Claude Debussy. His tone poem La Mer (1905) is believed to have been inspired by The Great Wave off Kanagawa; Debussy had an impression of the print in his living room and specifically requested its use on the cover of the published score.

8.3. Cultural Impact

Hokusai's broader cultural impact is undeniable, extending to literature, film, and popular culture, solidifying his status as a global cultural icon. His works continue to be exhibited worldwide, drawing large audiences, such as the 2005 exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum and the 2017 "Hokusai: beyond the Great Wave" exhibition at the British Museum.

In literature, Hokusai inspired Roger Zelazny's Hugo Award-winning short story "24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai", where the protagonist visits locations depicted by Hokusai. The poem "Hokusai Says" by Roger Keyes, featured in a 2011 book on mindfulness, also reflects on his artistic philosophy. His life and work have been the subject of several films and television dramas, including the critically acclaimed animated film Miss Hokusai (2015), which focuses on his daughter Ei, and a biographical live-action film HOKUSAI (2021).

Hokusai's iconic imagery has permeated contemporary Japanese culture and beyond. The design of The Great Wave off Kanagawa has been incorporated into various modern contexts, including the reverse side of the 2024 1000 yen banknote and designs on Japanese passports issued since 2019. Richard Lane, in the 1985 Encyclopædia Britannica, characterized Hokusai as having "impressed Western artists, critics and art lovers alike, more, possibly, than any other single Asian artist," underscoring his enduring and widespread legacy.

9.1. Contemporary Reception

During his active career, Hokusai enjoyed a considerable level of fame and recognition in Japan, as evidenced by the reprinting of some of his works and contemporary accounts. By 1798, he had already established a strong reputation, with anecdotes suggesting that even Dutch captains sought his paintings, remarking on his exceptional character as an artist. His large-scale public performances, such as painting a giant Daruma portrait in Edo in 1804, garnered significant public attention and were recorded in popular chronicles. His prolific work as an illustrator for yomihon (illustrated novels) greatly contributed to the genre's popularity, with contemporary critics noting his unique ability to breathe life into complex narratives.

The success of his Hokusai Manga series, which began publication in 1814, further solidified his standing, with prefaces to later volumes praising his "profound skill" and "high artistic reputation." However, not all contemporary assessments were entirely positive. Some, like Kuwagata Keisai, criticized Hokusai for allegedly imitating other artists and lacking originality. Despite such criticisms, Hokusai's ability to consistently attract students and secure commissions indicates that he was a well-known and respected figure in the Edo art world.

9.2. Posthumous Recognition

After his death, Hokusai's critical reception, particularly in Japan, was initially slower compared to other prominent ukiyo-e artists. For instance, his first work to be designated an Important Cultural Property in Japan, the painting Shell Gathering (Shiogari-zu), only occurred in 1997, significantly later than similar recognitions for artists like Katsukawa Shunshō (1959) or Utagawa Hiroshige (1964). This suggests that his domestic appreciation lagged behind his burgeoning fame in the West for many decades.

In contrast, Hokusai's work began to gain significant traction in the West much earlier. Copies of Hokusai Manga were brought to Europe by figures like Philipp Franz von Siebold in the 1820s. By the mid-19th century, his prints were being collected and studied by European artists, contributing to the rise of Japonisme. French art critics like Philippe Burty, who coined the term "Japonisme," and Ernest Chesneau praised Hokusai's originality and mastery, comparing him favorably to European masters like Watteau, Daumier, Goya, Delacroix, and Rubens. While some American and British critics, like Ernest Fenollosa and William Anderson, initially viewed such praise as excessive for a mere printmaker, the international appreciation for Hokusai steadily grew.

A pivotal moment in his global recognition came in 1998 when the American magazine Life included Hokusai as the only Japanese artist in its list of "The 100 Most Important People of the Last 1,000 Years," ranking him 86th. This revelation brought his high international standing to wider attention in Japan, prompting a re-evaluation of his legacy within his home country. Since then, Hokusai has been widely recognized as one of history's greatest artists, with his works continuing to be celebrated in major exhibitions worldwide.

10.1. Museums Dedicated to Hokusai

• Sumida Hokusai Museum
  • Opened in 2016 in Sumida, Tokyo, the district where Hokusai was born and spent much of his life. The museum is dedicated to preserving and exhibiting Hokusai's works, including pieces from the Peter Morse Collection and the Narazaki Muneshige Collection. It serves as a central hub for Hokusai studies and exhibitions in his birthplace.
• Hokusai Museum (Obuse)
  • Established in 1976 in Obuse, Nagano Prefecture, this museum specializes in Hokusai's art. Obuse is a significant location as Hokusai spent several years of his later life there at the invitation of his patron Takai Kozan, creating some of his final masterpieces, including large-scale ceiling paintings. The museum houses a notable collection of his nikuhitsuga (hand-painted works), including his alleged last painting, The Dragon of Smoke Escaping from Mt Fuji.
• Katsushika Hokusai Museum (Tsuwano)
  • Founded in 1990 in Tsuwano, Shimane Prefecture, by ukiyo-e scholar Nagata Seiji. The museum was established in Tsuwano due to the discovery of early printings of Hokusai Manga in the area. It closed in 2015, and Nagata's collection of 2,398 Hokusai works was subsequently donated to Shimane Prefecture, now known as the "Nagata Collection," which is exhibited at the Shimane Art Museum and the Shimane Arts Center "Grand Toit".

10.2. Commemorative Sites

• Hokusai's Birthplace (Sumida, Tokyo)
  • While the exact location is debated, a commemorative sign stands in front of an "Arare-ya" (rice cracker shop) in Sumida, marking the general area believed to be his birthplace.
• Katsushika Hokusai Shinsei-Ō Kenshōhi (Hokusai's Monument)
  • Located in front of Hōshō-ji temple in Sumida, Tokyo, this monument commemorates Hokusai. His grave is also located at Seikyō-ji temple in Taito Ward, Tokyo.
• Higashin Hokusai Gallery
  • Situated next to the Ryogoku headquarters of Tokyo Higashi Shinkin Bank in Sumida, this gallery features a bronze statue of Hokusai, unveiled in January 2024, further solidifying his presence in his native district.