The Great Wave off Kanagawa

A Woodblock Print by Katsushika Hokusai

The Great Wave off Kanagawa (Japanese: 神奈川沖浪裏), also known as The Great Wave otherwise known as The Wave, is a woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai. It was published sometime between 1829 and 1833 in the late Edo period as the first print in Hokusai's series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. The image depicts an enormous wave threatening three boats off the coast in the Sagami Bay (Kanagawa Prefecture) while Mount Fuji rises in the background. Sometimes assumed to be a tsunami, the wave is more likely to be a large rogue wave. It is Hokusai's most famous work and is often considered the most recognizable work of Japanese art in the world.