Which Japanese artist created 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji'?

In the 1830s, when Katsushika Hokusai was in his seventies, he published his most famous work, 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji', which included the picture 'Great Wave Off Kanagawa'. The artwork is a series of woodblock prints that depict Mount Fuji in Japan from different perspectives and in various seasons and weather conditions.

To create the prints, Hokusai drew a copy with pen and ink, which he sent to his publisher, Nishimuraya Yohachi. The original drawings were pasted onto a block of cherry wood and given to a block cutter, who carved out the “white space” between the lines with a chisel. This resulted in the “key-block”, which could be used numerous times to produce prints.

The original drawings for 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji' were destroyed during the printmaking process. The only surviving sketches are those that never made it to publication.

Katsushika Hokusai lived between 1760 and 1849 in the Katsushika district of Edo (Tokyo). Not much is known about his childhood, except his father was an artisan who possibly taught his son to paint from a young age. Hokusai’s achievements as an artist have influenced people for over 200 years. During his lifetime, his work inspired up-and-coming printmakers and book illustrators, and before his death, his prints had made their way to Europe.