The term 浮世絵 (うきよえ) (ukiyoe) translates as "Pictures of the floating world," but the term "floating world" is a bit confusing, so an explanation is necessary. Some people say that the world "floating" literally refers to life along the banks of the Sumida River in Tokyo, where Hokusai was born. In addition, the floating world can perhaps be better said to be the recreation/pleasure/partying/sensuality world of the life that happened on boats that
floated up and down the river during the Edo Period. It was into the midst of this world that Hokusai was born and grew up. Watch from 2:40 as this is explained. The point is also made at 3:49 that the idea of a "floating world" of recreation started in the middle of the 1600's and was already in full swing when Hokusai was born in 1760.
(Watch from 5:12 as a drawing on paper is transferred to a block of wood, then a carver does the meticulous work of carving the image into the wood.)
At 6:18 the point is made that the 浮世絵 art form was already well-established when Hokusai began making his own prints. (Hokusai did not invent 浮世絵.) But Hokusai took it to a much higher level. By the time he was in his mid 60's, he was known as the undisputed master of 浮世絵.
It is said at 19:33 That Hokusai even created the term "manga" and he painted many manga images. (But today's manga is quite different.) Hokusai's manga and illustrated novels are seen as the foundation of today's modern manga. We can see from 18:10 some of Hokusai's manga.
Did you know Hokusai also did regular paintings? Even more amazing, he was commissioned by some Dutch people during this time to do some paintings in 1822 of everyday Edo life. Take a look from 22:28.
At 24:27 we hear how Hokusai's grandson gets the family (and Hokusai) into serious gambling debt. Hokusai is now broke. But it is this financial challenge in Hokusai's elderly years that help to motivate him into painting his most famous works, "The 36 Views of Mount Fuji."
Hokusai's greatest masterpiece is "The Great Wave," but take a look at an amazing work from 20 years earlier, at 31:44, of the same situation, from years before, minus an image of Mount Fuji.
In Japan, Hokusai's most popular picture is not "The Great Wave" but "Red Fuji."
But look at the following image at 38:18. According to the video, Mount Fuji in the original picture was not such solid colors red, but was composed of various shades of red, blue, etc. But thousands of 'solid-color' images were mass-produced from the original, and depicting a 'solid-red' Fuji was easier to mass-produce and sell.
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Hokusai also did a number of sublime paintings in his final years. Enjoy them from 45:52 to 56:15.