Black & White Japanese Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai - The Great Wave off Kanagawa also known as The Great Wave or simply The Wave, is a woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai. It was published sometime between 1830 and 1833 and is one of the best-recognized works of Japanese art in the world. It depicts an enormous wave threatening boats off the coast of Kanagawa. While sometimes assumed to be a tsunami, the wave is more likely to be a large rogue wave.It depicts the area around Mount Fuji under particular conditions, and the mountain itself appears in the background.