Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) is Japan’s most famous painter, if the countless reproductions of his best-known work, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa,” are any measure.
Though for all his productivity in his 88 years, and the commercial success of his woodblock prints, Hokusai lived an itinerant life, changing residence a reported 93 times, while never escaping poverty. (Not that, with his cavalier attitude toward money, he tried very hard.)
This bumptious, eccentric genius also led a life full of incident, which has since been pored over by biographers. However, some mysteries remain, such as the contribution of his artist daughter, Oi, to his later work.