Hokusai: Mad About Painting
1880 AD
1880 1880
139.44E35.40N
ART

TOKYO, JAPAN
	Hokusai Katsushuka painted big! One of his paintings was so large that people could only see the whole thing from their rooftops. But he also painted small, on one occasion painting two sparrows on a grain of rice.
	Hokusai was not only a showman of art, but an astonishingly prolific artist who produced about 30,000 paintings during his lifetime. At a rate of just one picture a day, it would have taken him more than 82 years to produce that many. No wonder he often signed his paintings, "The old man mad about painting."
	In Japan, painting had always been the art of the philosopher and poet, that is, until the 17th Century when a new style appeared called "Ukiyo-e" (meaning "scenes from the passing world"). Hokusai was a master of this popular style, which emphasized the here and now.
	Hokusai was born in Edo (now Tokyo, Japan) and raised by a mirror maker. Later he worked with a bookseller and wood engraver, then, at age 19, entered the shop of Katsugawa Shunsho, an ukiyo-e painter, but was expelled for disregarding his master's artistic instructions.
	His early work in the 1790s depicted slender women, legends, and animals. He also illustrated a vast number of books, including "Mangwa," a 15-volume pictorial encyclopedia of Japanese life that appeared from 1812 to 1875, "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji," "Views of Famous Bridges," "Waterfalls," "Views of the Lu-chu Islands," and his three-volume work, "Hundred Views of Mount Fuji," which appeared from 1823 to 1829.
	Copies of his "Hundred Views of Mount Fuji" came to Europe in 1880 and greatly influenced European artists.
	Though Hokusai's work sold well, he remained a poor man because his eldest son spent money -- Hokusai's money -- extravagantly. He often hid from bill collectors and frequently moved to new homes to escape the dirt he let accumulate and the back rent he failed to pay.
	Hokusai painted until the day of his death and always maintained a certain humility about his art and a willingness to learn. On his deathbed he said, "If Heaven would only grant me ten more years, I would have become a real painter."
