- Size: 20.5 × 14.0 × 0.8 cm
- Cover: softcover
- Pages: 80 lined pages
- Closure: blue elastic band
- Weight: 130 g
- Country of manufacture: the Netherlands
A softcover notebook featuring a detail from Katsushika Hokusai’s famous Under the Wave off Kanagawa on the cover. In the blue-and-white illustration, the foaming crests of a rising wave curve over the boats. A blue elastic band keeps the notebook closed in your bag.
Background to the image
Created around 1830–1832 by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, this woodblock print belongs to the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. Commonly known as The Great Wave, it is one of the best-known images in Japanese art.
In the original work, a large wave rises above three boats, with Mount Fuji visible in the distance. The curved shape of the wave and the small scale of the boats emphasise the power of the sea and the scale of human beings within nature. The notebook cover features a vertically cropped detail of the work.
Symbolic meaning
The imagery of The Great Wave can be interpreted in terms of the power of nature, change and human vulnerability. A wave is a fleeting form: it rises, reaches its peak and dissolves back into the sea. Symbolically, it can also represent the movement of emotions and phases of life that cannot be fully controlled.
The distant Mount Fuji in the original work provides a contrast to the restless sea in the foreground. This tension can be explored as a relationship between permanence and change. The imagery on the notebook can serve as a starting point for reflecting on personal experiences, powerful emotions and changes.
See also our selection of quill pen sets.
