| "Whaling Off Gotō" from Oceans of Wisdom | |
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| Artist | Hokusai |
| Year | Published c. 1832–1834 |
| Type | Wood block prints |
| Dimensions | 19 cm × 25.4 cm (7.5 in × 10.0 in) |
Oceans of Wisdom (Japanese: Chie no umi (千絵の海)[1]) is a chūban yoko-e (19 × 25.4 cm) sized woodblock print series by the Japanese artist Hokusai. The ten fishing-themed prints comprise one of Hokusai's rarest sets. Published by Moriya Jihei,[2] it seems to have been issued around 1832–1834[3][4] and publication of the prints ceased abruptly. Some preparatory drawings are extant for prints that were never made.
The prints, which feature scenes of fishing including shellfish-gathering, whaling and fly-fishing, allow Hokusai to explore one of his favourite themes, that of man expressing himself through labour and harmoniously working with the forces of nature.[citation needed] This is particularly evident in the print Chōshi in Shimōsa Province, which shows fishing boats struggling in a stormy sea, echoing his roughly contemporaneous The Great Wave off Kanagawa.[3]
The series' use of colour differs from other landscape prints of the time. It has richly overprinted shades and an unusual palette of yellow, green and varying red pigments.[citation needed] Hokusai also employs the rare technique of using black for colour and not just line, suggestive of the influence of Western oil painting.[5]
The title of the series can be read in two ways. The characters 千絵の海 read as "One Thousand Pictures of the Ocean"[6] (or "One Thousand Pictures of the Sea"),[7] but when read aloud the title sounds like "Oceans of Wisdom".[1]
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| Woodblock prints |
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