Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) was a legendary Japanese ukiyo-e artist whose woodblock
prints, especially The Great Wave off Kanagawa, profoundly influenced global art. His
masterpiece series, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, revolutionized Japanese landscape art.
Personally, Hokusai was an eccentric, restless perfectionist. He famously changed his artistic
name over thirty times, relocated over ninety times, and obsessively painted until his death at
age 88, forever striving for ultimate artistic mastery.