Katsushika Hokusai

Hello! My name is Hokusai, and I am an artist. That means I love to make pictures. I was born a long, long time ago, around the year 1760. I lived in a place called Edo in Japan, which is now a big city called Tokyo. Ever since I was a little boy, I loved to draw more than anything. I drew everything I saw. I drew wiggly fish swimming in the water and fluffy cats sleeping in the sun. I loved drawing people with happy faces.

As I grew up, I kept drawing and painting every single day. It made me so happy to make pictures of the beautiful world around me. My most famous picture is of a giant, splashy wave. It is so big it looks like it could touch the sky! I made this picture, called 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa,' around the year 1831. If you look very close, you can see a tall mountain hiding behind the big wave. That is Mount Fuji, and it was my favorite mountain to draw. I made a whole book of pictures just about that special mountain.

I drew and painted for my entire life. I lived to be a very old man, about 88 years old, and my life ended in the year 1849. I was so happy I could spend my life making art for everyone to see. Even though I lived a long, long time ago, people all over the world still know my name and love my pictures. They especially love my big, blue wave. I hope my drawings make you smile and help you see the beauty in the world, too.