12 Responses to 8.9 Magnitude Earthquake in Japan triggers Tsunamis and warnings in U.S.

1. Luan says:

   April 7, 2011 at 9:20 am

   It is interesting that the famous woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai is noted on your website as “Under the Wave Off Kanagawa.” I realized that the title is
   different than what I remember in my Art History class and the accompanying literature which we studied have it listed as “The Great Wave.” Since these two names were
   different, I decided to look up the what would be the correct name and decided that the website http://www.katsushikahosukai.org would be the definitive source. They had it listed as “Mount Fuji Seen Below a
   Wave at Kanagawa.” All these names surely have bowled me over like the Tsunami it depicts. Now I ask you, what is the correct name for this polychromatic wood block print?!

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2. ArtSHIFTING says:

   April 7, 2011 at 9:54 am

   I’ve updated the post so that it links back to the piece I’m referring to at the Boston MFA Web site.

   http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/177303

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3. brandon says:

   April 18, 2011 at 1:28 pm

   I was also told in my art history class that this polychrome wood block print was know as the “great wave”. whether its the “great wave” or “under the wave off kanagawa” i think we all understand the significance of these woodblock prints.

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4. Lindsey F. says:

   May 16, 2011 at 8:44 pm

   I studied this piece in my art history class as well, ironically enough, a couple days before the tsunamis hit Japan. I think the woodblock pieces are great; they are small and portable, and were made in that time for anybody to have and hang in their house (not just made for royalty). The contrast of the dark blue and the bright white of the wave make it look very dangerous – especially with the exaggeration of the tiny people in their boats attempting to escape the wave and its potential destruction. The frothy part of the wave looks finger/claw-like, which make the scene even more scary – it looks like a monster is about to crash down upon the people. The image of Mt. Fiji in the background shows just how big and powerful the wave is in comparison to the largest mountain.

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5. huitng says:

   May 16, 2011 at 11:50 pm

   first of all, it is a serious topic for me . I am not a japanese but i am a chines and my city is very close to japan. I can say, that news was shocked me .
   I learned “Under the Wave Off Kanagawa” from my art class. And after this earthquake and tsunamis. It picture just show up on my mind . I don’t know why. Just like blog said, The piece is a clear demonstration of the struggle between man and nature.
   At here i will hope more and more people who care about japan cares about out earth can give more help to japan use any way..thanks

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6. Gustavo says:

   May 14, 2012 at 11:57 pm

   Like huitng, when I think of the tsunamis that occurred in Japan in 2011 I think of the Hokusai’s ‘Under the wave off Kanagawa’. It definitely shows in a more extreme case, how we co-exist with nature. It’s very sad but, I feel like the perspective that’s shown in Hokusai’s art isn’t much different that what the people of Japan experienced first hand. Very scary! My heart goes out to everyone affected by the earthquakes/tsunamis last year. I actually bought a few shirts started by the HOPE campaign that would help fund the tsunamis relief projects. You can go to hurley.com to buy the t-shirts.

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7. Natalie Rogers says:

   July 12, 2012 at 2:08 pm

   I enjoy seeing a piece of art that I learned about in Art History. It immediately caught my eye. It is great that I actually have knowledge of the image. This image is a good representative of the waves that hit Japan after the earthquake. The dark blue color of the waves makes this image appears dark and not too settling. The vertical length of the wave, with the white at the highest point allows the wave to appear large and uninviting. The waves that resulted from the Japan earthquakes were really aggressive and powerful. I remember watching the news and having the fear that us on the California west coast had a possibility to get hit by those waves. The earthquake in Japan was a horrible and scary situation. It is unfortunate that not many people were able to get enough warning to get out. I remember the waves were rushing into the land, uncontrollably taking over structures and vehicles and even people. The cars driving away from the water appeared so small compared to the force of the water. So again, this image is a great representative of the overwhelming gigantic waves that hit Japan after the earthquake.

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8. kimhou cheap says:

   November 13, 2012 at 8:04 pm

   The picture of the wave look interesting and attractive. Makes you look at ocean waves different. The waves are looking like its floating in air and there real big waves.

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9. chauntel says:

   December 9, 2012 at 6:22 pm

   this piece of work is one of the many we learned about in art history.i like how it represents the tsunamis and disasters that have happened. i like how it actually has a true meaning behind it. it shows the struggle between man and nature. i like how its not super realistic but you still understand the meaning behind it. i really like the contrast of blue and white it really makes the piece stand out. when i learned about this piece it was called ” thr big wave” and when i was reading about it in this article its called ” under the wave of kanagawa”. that seemed interesting to me.

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10. Jhordy Figueroa says:

    December 10, 2012 at 10:38 pm

    I was surprised to see this famous woodblock print here because i learned about it in my art 1.2 class at Santa Rosa junior college. But the title is a little different in our class we learned it as The Great Wave by Katsushika Hokusai. It was made during the Edo period/Tokugawa period. During this period Tokugawa shogunate ruled Japan.
    Just wanted to give a little more information about this famous woodblock print.

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11. Jhordy says:

    December 10, 2012 at 11:53 pm

    I was surprised

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12. H. Emiko Ogasawara says:

    December 11, 2012 at 12:48 am

    The recent tsunami scare in Japan has reminded many of the tragic tsunami on 3/10/11. However, for many in Japan it has been hard to forget. The radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi powerplant meltdown still permeates the countryside. There are children presenting with indicators of thyroid cancer already, whereas after the Chernobyl fiasco it took most people approximately 10 years to begin to show health problems. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/9410702/Nearly-36pc-of-Fukushima-children-diagnosed-with-thyroid-growths.html I just hope that people will continue to be aware of these issues, and to be reminded by wonderful heartbreaking art like this.

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