Katsushika Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” Featured on the New ¥1000 Note: A Tribute to “Japan Blue”

Finally Got My Hands on the New ¥1000 Note Featuring Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”

I finally got my hands on the new ¥1000 note issued on July 3. For the first time in history, a ukiyo-e painting is depicted on the reverse side. This ukiyo-e is none other than Katsushika Hokusai’s world-famous “The Great Wave off Kanagawa.” The redesign of the banknote is the first in 20 years since 2004. The “Great Wave off Kanagawa” perfectly complements the blue-toned new ¥1000 banknote. Like many others, I love “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” so much that I can’t bring myself to use the new ¥1000 note right away. The design is just that impressive.

While multi-colored prints are predominant in ukiyo-e, there are many that are predominantly blue. Hokusai’s “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji,” which includes “The Great Wave off Kanagawa,” features many blue-toned Aizuri-e (prints in blue) in its earlier prints. The vibrant blue skies and seas brought a fresh perspective to landscape representation in ukiyo-e. Following Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige further expanded the expressive possibilities of Aizuri-e.

The Birth of Hiroshige Blue

Europeans highly appreciated the blue of Aizuri-e, calling it “Hiroshige Blue.” Until then, the inks and paints Europeans were accustomed to seeing were mostly opaque, as they mixed oils or other substances to fix the colors to paper or canvas surfaces. In contrast, Japanese ukiyo-e prints, due to the skill of the printers, embedded pigment particles within the fibers of the washi paper without using fixatives. This allowed viewers to enjoy the inherent transparency and vividness of the materials themselves.

From “Hiroshige Blue” to “Japan Blue”

In the Edo period, luxury restriction laws prohibited extravagant displays, limited clothing colors, and allowed commoners to wear brown, gray, and blue. Particularly, the blue of indigo dye, described in the saying “The blue that surpasses indigo,” captivated and was favored by many. British chemist Robert W. Atkinson, who visited Japan in 1874, described Japan, adorned in various shades of blue, as “Japan Blue,” making blue a symbolic color representing Japan.

Thus, the Aizuri-e in ukiyo-e and indigo-dyed clothing became symbols of “Japan Blue.” Both ukiyo-e and dyeing use water. Along the Kanda River (called Edo River in the Edo period) in the center of Edo (Tokyo) lies “Takahashi Kobo (Studio),” Japan’s oldest ukiyo-e studio. Coincidentally, within a 30-minute walk (or about 8 minutes by car) from there is “Tomita Sen Kogei (Tokyo Some Monogatari Museum),” a dyeing workshop for Edo Komon and Edo Sarasa. Reflecting on “Japan Blue,” which has captivated not only Japanese but also many foreigners, why not experience ukiyo-e production at “Takahashi Studio” and dyeing at “Tomita Dye Craft”? It will make you feel like you’ve traveled back in time to the Edo period, creating unforgettable memories.