Random Sketches by Hokusai, Volumes 1 to 11
Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 Japanese
Edo period (1615–1868)
Not on view
The series Hokusai manga had fifteen volumes. The first volume was published in 1814 and the tenth, which was supposed to be the final volume, in 1819. The series was so popular that the publishers added several more books, finally ending with volume 15 in 1878, long after Hokusai's death in1849. These drawings demonstrate Hokusai's remarkable ability to capture the essence of the body in motion. His signature reads Hokusai aratame Katsushika Taito ("Hokusai changed to Katsushika Taito").