Did you know the artist behind the world's most famous wave started making art when he was just six years old?
Katsushika Hokusai was one of Japan's greatest artists and one of the most influential printmakers in history. He spent nearly his entire life creating, producing more than 30,000 works of art, and some of his greatest masterpieces, including The Great Wave, weren't created until he was in his 70s.
Nearly 200 years later, his work continues to inspire artists around the world. Here are four fascinating facts every young artist should know.
Hokusai started painting around age six, likely learning from his father who made decorative mirrors for Japan's most powerful ruler. By 14 he was carving detailed designs into woodblocks so they could be pressed onto paper like a stamp. By 18 he was studying under one of Japan's most celebrated artists.
His career spanned nearly seven decades and produced more than 30,000 works. He called himself "The Old Man Mad About Art", and his most iconic works, including The Great Wave, were created when he was in his 70s. At 70, he was just getting started.
This one surprises everyone. The Great Wave off Kanagawa is not a painting at all. It is a woodblock print, meaning Hokusai carved the entire design by hand into wood, applied ink, and pressed it onto paper like a giant stamp. Because of this process, he could print the same image hundreds of times, making his art affordable for everyday people in Japan, not just the wealthy.
What made The Great Wave revolutionary was how Hokusai created a sense of depth and movement that Japanese art had never seen before. That wave feels like it is about to crash right off the page. Artists have been studying and recreating it for nearly 200 years, and it still stops people in their tracks today. And now? Young artists can try it too. In the Hokusai My Artist Box, kids learn three real printmaking techniques inspired by the very methods Hokusai used.
Printmaking is basically making your own stamp and pressing it onto paper again and again. Here is how to try it with your kids today:
- Cut a potato in half so you have a flat surface to work with
- Use a pencil to draw a simple shape on the flat side, a wave, a star, a heart
- Ask a grown-up to help carve away the area around the shape using a knife or skewer so your design sticks up like a stamp
- Dip the potato into paint and press it firmly onto paper
- Lift it straight up and see your print!
The best part? You can press it again and again, just like Hokusai did. He used the same carved block to print The Great Wave hundreds of times.
This one always gets kids. Hokusai did not go by one name his whole life. He changed his name more than 30 times, more than any other major Japanese artist in history. In Japan at the time, artists often changed their names when they entered a new period of their work or studied under a new teacher.
His final and most beloved name, Hokusai, roughly translates to "north studio" in honor of a star that held deep spiritual meaning for him. By the end of his life he was calling himself "The Old Man Mad About Art," a beautiful testament to a life lived entirely for creativity.
Talk about it: Ask your young artist what they would name themselves if they were an artist. What would their artist name say about who they are and what they love to create?
Yes, that manga! The word manga combines two Japanese characters meaning "random" and "pictures" and it has been around since the late 1700s. But it was Hokusai who made it famous. In 1814, at age 51, he published a series of sketchbooks called the Hokusai Manga, filled with lively drawings of animals, people, landscapes, and everyday life in Japan. He made them for his students to copy and learn from, and they became a bestseller. His sketches look nothing like the manga comics we know today, but Hokusai put the word on the map and planted the seed of a visual storytelling tradition that Japan is now celebrated for around the world. Kids who love manga and anime might be thrilled to know their favorite art form has roots tracing all the way back to this legendary printmaker.
Nearly 200 years after The Great Wave was first printed, Hokusai is still inspiring artists around the world. He believed there was always something new to learn, another technique to master, and another idea waiting to be discovered.
If your young artist is inspired by Hokusai's story, our Hokusai My Artist Box brings his world to life through four hands-on projects inspired by his most iconic works. Kids explore real printmaking techniques, recreate famous masterpieces, and discover the artist behind the wave.
Because the best way to learn about a great artist isn't just to read about them. It's to create like them!
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