Version of the Great Wave off Kanagawa displayed at RHS Garden Harlow Carr in Harrogate

It is counted among one of the most recognisable images the world over.
The Great Wave of Kanagawa by Hokusai. Picture submitted by RHS Garden Harlow Carr.The Great Wave of Kanagawa by Hokusai. Picture submitted by RHS Garden Harlow Carr.
The Great Wave of Kanagawa by Hokusai. Picture submitted by RHS Garden Harlow Carr.

A huge wave curls round as Mount Fuji is depicted in the background.

And Yorkshire art lovers now have the chance to view a print of The Great Wave off Kanagawa at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Garden Harlow Carr.

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Visitors enjoying RHS Garden Harlow Carr. Picture: Simon Hulme.Visitors enjoying RHS Garden Harlow Carr. Picture: Simon Hulme.
Visitors enjoying RHS Garden Harlow Carr. Picture: Simon Hulme.

The print is one of 20 landscape pieces which will be on display during a six-week Japanese art exhibition, starting today, in the Harrogate garden’s Bath House.

Originally made in Japan using traditional woodblock printing techniques pioneered in the country – thousands were created – visitors can see imitations of works by Master Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849), best-known for the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, and others.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa was the piece which secured his fame both within Japan and overseas.

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A pop-up of The Japanese Shop, a gift store in Hookstone Avenue, Harrogate, will sell a variety of gifts at the exhibition.

Items will include kimonos, tableware, origami kits and Japanese kokeshi dolls.

Hokusai produced most of his important work, including Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, after age 60.

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He was born in 1760 to an artisan family, in the Katsushika district of Japan.

His childhood name was Tokitarō, but he was known by at least 30 names during his lifetime. He became an apprentice to a wood-carver, where he worked until the age of 18, when he was accepted by the studio of Katsukawa Shunshō.

RHS Garden Harlow Carr is one of five public gardens run by the Royal Horticultural Society, which acquired it following a merger with the Northern Horticultural Society in 2001.

The exhibition runs between 10am and 3pm.

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