This lavishly illustrated, oversized (17" x 10") book brings together the last major print series of the celebrated Japanese artist Hokusai (1760-1849) and the Japanese poetry that inspired these beautiful prints. Whether showing semi-nude women abalone divers struggling with their catch while a male crew of shriveled old salts leers from a nearby boat, or the carefree rapture of a leisurely group of men and women observing cherry blossoms at their peak, Hokusai captures, with drama and delicacy, sublime and ridiculous states. The artist's simplicity, though deceptive, is also remarkable: he illustrates a poem about a lovers' seaside tryst with a magnificently imposing yet unadorned sailing vessel, its small window offering a coy glimpse of the fortunate couple inside. Each of the 111 color prints (as well as 41 black-and-white sketches of projected prints apparently never completed) is accompanied by the poem, in Japanese and English, a biographical note on the poet and by Peter Morse's comments on literary and artistic intention and execution.

葛飾北齊 Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) 江戶時期浮世繪畫傢

葛飾北齋生於 1760年的江戶（現東京），是日本江戶時代浮世繪派的大師級人物。他14歲學雕版印刷，18歲便和另一位浮世繪大師勝川春章學畫，開始瞭自己漫長且多産的畫畫生涯——但葛飾卻是等到瞭60歲以後纔開始齣名的。1826年，為瞭配閤當時的日本內地旅遊業的發展（多半也因為個人對富士山的情有獨鍾），葛飾以富士山不同角度的樣貌為題，畫瞭《富嶽三十六景》一係列的風景圖，因而遠近馳名，其中以赤富士和神奈川衝浪裏最為知名。

2000年，美國雜誌《生活》把葛飾北斎列入“百位世界韆禧名人”，贊揚他一生都在力求進步，想辦法讓自己的畫更加完美的精神。雖然一生中作瞭無數的名畫，名聲響亮，葛飾大師卻是一個謙卑踏實的人。在他74歲那年，葛飾惋惜自己對畫畫還不夠天份。在一本自傳裏，他說：“說實在的，我70歲之前所畫過的東西都不怎麼樣，也不值得一提。我想，我還得繼續努力，纔能在100歲的時候畫齣一些比較瞭不起的東西。”

遺憾的是，葛飾大師沒活過百歲。臨死前，他感嘆地說：“我多麼希望自己還能再活多五年，這樣子我纔有時間嘗試成為一個真正的畫傢。”他當時89歲。

著名作品

富嶽三十六景 36 Views of Mount Fuji

One Hundred Poets

冨嶽三十六景：神奈川海浪裏 The Great Wave off Kanagawa