Katsushika Hokusai, born in 1760, was a Japanese artist during the late Edo period, right before the Meiji Restoration. He is best known for his printmaking, such as the seriesThirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, and specifically The Great Wave of Kanagawa.

However, his work extends much further than that, and he captures a majesty that few other artists can. As a personality, he represents a strange interplay between humility and pride.

He once said that "When I was 50 I had published a universe of designs. But all I have done before the age of 70 is not worth bothering with. At 75, I'll have learned something of the pattern of nature... When I am 80, you will see real progress. At 90, I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At 100, I shall be a marvelous artist. At 110, everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before..." Though he didn't live quite so long, he created deeply sublime prints regardless.

The Temple Honganji, Asakusa, in the Eastern Capital, ca. 1829-1833

Bridge in the Clouds, 19th century

Crossbill and Thistle, 1834

Falcon in Flight, 19th century

Enoshima in the Sagami Province, 19th century

Fuji, Mountain in Clear Weather (Red Mountain), 1831

Kajikazawa in Kai Province, 19th century

Lake Suwa in the Shinano Province, 19th century

Mitsui Shop on Sugura Street in Edo, 1831

Mishima Pass in Kai Province, 1831-1834

Ocean Waves, 1834

Rainstorm Beneath the Summit, 1821

Shore of the Tago Bay, 1832

Sunset Across the Ryogoku Bridge, 19th century

The Fuji Reflects in Lake Kawaguchi, 19th century

The Great Wave off Kanagawa, 1831