This Painting Is More Disturbing Than You Think. Here’s Why.

This piece is called The Great Wave, also known as Under The Wave Off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai. You’ve probably seen it more times than you can count, but you might discover that you’ve been looking at it wrong the all along. It seems so calm and serene. But if we look a little closer, it begins to look a lot less free-spirited and fun-loving. Why? Because of the 3 boats full of fishermen below the Great Wave, desperately trying to save themselves from being SWALLOWED WHOLE by the turbulent waters.

Hokusai created this iconic woodblock print around the year 1830, a time when Japan had basically been isolated from the rest of the world for about 200 years. During this isolation, Japanese people saw waves as a symbol of safety from foreign invasion, as the sea surrounding the island was rough which made it almost impossible to cross. But in this depiction, the water no longer looks protective but instead aggressive and I think that’s because Hokusai knew the tide was about to turn.

The rest of the world wasn’t a fan of Japan’s isolation. They wanted a piece of Japan’s prosperity pie, so they took it. In 1853, an armed US Navy ship sailed to the island and demanded they trade freely with the rest of the world. And just like that, Japan begrudgingly opened its doors.

The Great Wave took the world by storm. It had this unique allure because it struck the perfect balance of being exotic, while also seeming familiar to the European eye, particularly because of the use of Prussian blue. I hope this video helped you see this famous artwork in a new light! Thanks for watching!

Credits:

Cloud special effects from Vecteezy

[Spearca]

Even without fishermen in danger, that's not a "serene" sea

[LouIsFatAndSassy]

Who ever viewed this as serene? Those waves look like they’re covered with hands, ready to claw the humble fishermen to the depths of the sea.

[katecoffee]

“Serene” was never a word I equated with this painting but I always found it beautiful.

[raedwulf]

I never saw this as peaceful. I always saw the boatmen in extreme danger.

[HeidiSue]

Even though I’ve never seen this piece with fishing boats included, it has never seemed peaceful and serene to me. Majestic. Powerful. Energetic. Vast.

[pliktl]

I was blessed to see this print in person in Washington DC. I nearly had a heart attack on the sidewalk, panicking in front of a poster that let me know ALL of the Hokusai prints were there, including 3 extras!! My father, witnessing this ordeal brought me back to earth with, "Do you want to go inside?"
The prints are TINY and all the little expressions on the faces are so detailed.
Thank you for bringing back this memory ❤❤

[bluegreenglue]

I never saw serenity in this painting. The faces of the fishermen, even in their simplicity, just give me vibes of resignation. This is one of my (18-year-old) son's favorite works of art (we have it as a shower curtain and I bought him a lego kit of this print for Christmas).

[thelastdictator]

I just always assumed it depicted a tsunami -never thought it was peaceful in the moment. Maybe if you look deeper and realize that while the people are going to have a rough time, Mt Fuji simply abides, you can make some statement about how the people of Japan may go through hardship but Japan itself will endure, but that's just digging for meaning.

[raffaeledelpizzo]

There's a misconception at the beginning of this video: this work of art has never been "calm".

[lillithcollins]

I've heard it said that the serenity of the painting is only felt by those who've only learned to read from left to right because the image ends in hope of survival. For those that can/only read right to left the image ends in the wave with the hope seemingly distant and unlikely.

[jessie]

I've seen this countless times, and never noticed the boats or the sailors. Now that its been pointed out I can't not see them. Thank you. I love these videos

[Finn-deue]

You should add a note about "Prussian Blue" at 2:46, at the time when this picture was made in Japan, this color were known as "Berlin Blue" not the term "Prussian Blue" that we used today

[TaikoNoTetsujin]

I have never thought of this print as calm and serene...your title made me wonder how it could be MORE disturbing than I thought

[JuliHoffman]

Omg! The constant moving because the artist's home became too unliveable. 😂 I love these little nuggets you throw into your videos. This one was fantastic!!

[moritod]

TIL that the Great Wave has boats in it. I'm so embarrassed I never noticed them before! I love it even more now - it tells such an amazing story. Thank you for sharing the details with us!

[tessiepinkman]

Your videos always make my day when they are released, and this one was no different! Thank you dearly for making these videos for us all to enjoy for free. It feels like such a luxury. I hope you have a wonderful day and week! :)

EDIT: Though I must say that I never ever saw this painting as calm or serene, and I don't think I have met anyone who does (at least that I've talked to about it). The white tip of the waves - to me - looks like they are coming to life and are trying to grab both the fishermen and me as a viewer.

[Frei_Raum]

I love this painting. Indeed it gave me comfort in a really challenging time in my life. Because, as you said, I felt like being in one of these boats, thrown up and down, not knowing if I would drown and how to come out of my misery. I just could hang on. What gave me consolation was Mount Fuji. It remembered me, that always there is a still space in us, even in the greatest waves. It may seem very little compared to the actual turbulences. But it's always there and in reality it's huge.

[Caranig]

The first time I ever ran into this piece was as cover art on an edition of Shipwrecks by Akira Yoshimura, so I always associated it as depicting boaters dying in the waves or possibly in a tsunami, since the wave depicted is so much bigger than the mountain. I've never heard anyone call this piece serene before this video.

Of course, I also didn't know that this was part of a much longer series focusing on Mt. Fuji. If you're intended to view it through the lens of the mountain, whereby everything from waves to human life is temporary, I can see there's a bit of serenity to be had. It's along the lines of the, "I am the sky and all of life and emotion is just clouds" lesson from therapy. Unfortunately, I was really bad at that exercise, and I'm still focusing on the fishermen just trying to survive.

[Lainers]

The detail in this block print is amazing! If you’ve ever been out in the ocean in a small fishing boat, you can understand the fear of the fishermen. Thank you.

[Sashazur]

If you’re in Seattle or close, there is currently a show at the Seattle Art Museum with this print as well as others by the same artist, plus lots of other japanese art both classic and contemporary. I saw it last week, it’s a really amazing show.