Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa-oki nami-ura), also known as The Great Wave

November 2025 – Sotheby’s Hong Kong

• Price: 21.7 million HKD (approximately 2.8 million USD)

• Location: Sotheby’s, Hong Kong

• Details: Described as a “well‑preserved early impression,” the work was sold from the Okada Museum collection and set a new record.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa” by Katsushika Hokusai is one of the most iconic images in the history of art. Created around 1831 as part of the series Thirty‑Six Views of Mount Fuji, the woodblock print captures a dramatic moment: a towering, claw‑like wave curling over fragile fishing boats, while the distant Mount Fuji remains calm and immovable. Hokusai’s masterful use of line, Prussian blue pigment, and dynamic composition transformed a simple maritime scene into a universal symbol of nature’s power and human resilience.