Katsushika Hokusai (October 31, 1760 – May 10, 1849) is a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period.

He is influenced by such painters as Sesshu, and other styles of Chinese painting.

Born in Edo (now Tokyo), Hokusai is best known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (c. 1831) which includes the internationally recognized print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, created during the 1820s.

Hokusai creates the "Thirty-Six Views" both as a response to a domestic travel boom and as part of a personal obsession with Mount Fuji.

It is this series, specifically The Great Wave print and Fuji in Clear Weather, that secures Hokusai’s fame both in Japan and overseas.