Hokusai: The Great Picture Book of Everything

Hokusai’s diverse 103 drawings illuminate an imagined archive of ancient cultures and creative origins.Shortlisted in the Exhibition Catalogues category in the British Book Design and Production Awards 2022Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) is considered by many to be Japan’s greatest artist. During his seventy-year career; he produced a considerable oeuvre of some 3; 000 color prints; illustrations for over 200 books; hundreds of drawings; and over 1; 000 paintings. This exciting collection of 103 exquisite small drawings were made for an unpublished book called The Great Picture Book of Everything – featuring wide-ranging subjects from depictions of religious; mythological; historical; and literary figures to animals; birds; flowers; and other natural phenomena; as well as landscapes. They are dominated by subjects that relate to ancient China and India; also Southeast and Central Asia. Many subjects found in the collection are not found in previous Hokusai works; including fascinating imaginings of the origin of human culture in ancient China.This beautifully produced book draws on the latest research; illustrating the complete set of drawings; published for the first time.Table of ContentsDirectors’ forewordIntroductionCommentaries for 103 Hokusai drawingsConcordance of exhibitsCatalogue of works – all 103 drawings reproduced at actual size:IndiaChinaNatural world Read more