Mokuhankan in Tokyo made a limited woodblock print run of The Great Wave of Kanagawa a couple years ago. It was printed using traditional methods but the templates were made on a computer, using high-res scans of multiple vintage prints as source material. The long process was documented on YouTube. <https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK-Wicsj5rAasS2g7e-Z9...>

One interesting fact that came up is that: No known existing print has been identified as being from an original print run! All known antique prints in existence are reproductions from back in the day. Japan did not have any copyright law, so copying of prints was common. This has been seen by every print having artefacts that have been recognised as some that can happen while copying, and then those artefacts were copied and so on... The British Museum has an article about it: <https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/great-wave-spot-differenc...>

Could we add [2019] to the title?

More context:

> On April 9, 2019, Finance Minister Tarō Asō announced new designs for the ¥1000, ¥5000, and ¥10,000 notes, for use beginning on July 3, 2024.

> The ¥1000 bill will feature Kitasato Shibasaburō and The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the ¥5000 bill will feature Tsuda Umeko and wisteria flowers, and the ¥10,000 bill will feature Shibusawa Eiichi and Tokyo Station.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banknotes_of_the_Japanese_ye...

I'm curious: Is the Great Wave as iconic within Japan as it is to the West et al? For me it's one of the first pieces of Japanese art I think of, but I've always wondered if that's just because it's closer to the intersection of, say, American and Japanese sensibilities/artistic palate, rather than because it's actually the biggest deal in Japanese art.

This summer is the perfect time to see Hokusai’s “Great Wave” in person around the world!

3 impressions go on view this month in Japan (Kawasaki, Okayama, Tokyo)

This coincides with its inclusion on the new ¥1000 bank note from July 2024.

And impressions are still on view in UK, Italy, and USA: https://greatwavetoday.com

I wonder if they will ever feature anime/manga art on their paper money.

Think they'll do 'dream of the fisherman's wife' next?

Article from five years ago

The Great Wave is fantastic art and I'm getting a bit tired of seeing it overused everywhere. This is going to make that even worse.

It's good to celebrate outstanding artwork but having it in everyone's face all the time is antithetical to that.

My Japanese partner was saying that small businesses are complaining about these because apparently some machines that process banknotes are unable to detect them.

Side question: why are USD bank notes so dull ?