Hokusais great wave biography of a global icon hokusais great wave as it is commonly known today is arguably one of japans most successful exports its commanding cresting profile instantly recognizable no matter how different its representations in media and style in this richly illustrated and highly original study guth examines the . Wide ranging in scope yet grounded in close readings of disparate iterations of the wave multidisciplinary and theoretically informed in its approach hokusais great wave will change both how we look at this global icon and the way we study the circulation of japanese prints this accessible and engagingly written work moves beyond the standard hagiographical approach to recognize as categories of analysis historical and geographic contingency as well as visual and technical brilliance. Wide ranging in scope yet grounded in close readings of disparate iterations of the wave multidisciplinary and theoretically informed in its approach hokusais great wave will change both how we look at this global icon and the way we study the circulation of japanese prints this accessible and engagingly written work moves beyond the standard hagiographical approach to recognize as categories of analysis historical and geographic contingency as well as visual and technical brilliance. Abstract no non western artwork has been reproduced so widely or undergone so many reconfigurations in so many parts of the world as hokusais under the wave off kanagawa commonly known as the great wave not only is it instantly recognizable but familiarity with it has contributed to the way many people visualize waves today