Hokusai is widely recognized as one of Japan's greatest artists, as he was instrumental in developing the genre of ukiyo-e and modernized traditional print styles. He transformed ukiyo-e art into a modern form of graphic art, covering several subjects from portraits of entertainers and kabuki actors, to unique views of the natural world. His eclectic artistry brought the highest development of the ukiyo-e genre, spreading a newfound awareness of current subjects and tastes through the mass production of books, manga and manuals. 

Hokusai’s work not only shaped the artistic landscape of the Edo Period and paved the way for Japanese art, but he also had a significant influence on impressionists Edgar Degas and Claude Monet, and later Vincent van Gogh, during the Japonisme art movement that spread across Europe in the late 19th century. 

image: Portrait of Katsushika Hokusai. From the Biography of Katsushika Hokusai by Iijima Kyoshin. 1893

Fun facts about Hokusai:

1. Hokusai was known by at least 30 different names during his lifetime - more than any other artist of his era. 

2. Hokusai hated to clean and moved over 93 times in his lifetime 

3. Hokusai published 10 volumes of best-selling sketch books called Hokusai Manga 

4. In 1804 Hokusai painted the Great Daruma at a large festival - the work was said to be performed in front of a crowd and the painting was 600 feet long, using a broom and buckets full of ink. 

5. Hokusai reached the height of his career at 60 

6. There was a total of 46 prints in Hokusai’s “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji” 

7. Hokusai was struck by lightning at age 50 and survived 

8. Hokusai survived a stroke at 68 years old and continued to paint 

9. He created over 30,000 artworks 

10. He had hoped to live to 110 years old