Two facsimiles of drawings by Hokusai from the collection of William Rothenstein Published by Essex House Press in Gloucestershire, 1910, #6 of an edition of 50

Drawing 1 _Guardian of Heaven_

The symbolic figure of a tiger, the mighty guardian of Heaven [drawn] as a vital and natural expression of forceful conviction. W. Rothenstein

Drawing 2 _A Goblin_

The furtive presence of evil . . . this drawing of a malicious spirit shows a beauty of touch set down with a marvelous precision. W. Rothenstein

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was an Edo period Japanese artist, painter, wood engraver, born in Edo (now Tokyo). Author of the 15-volume sketchbook Hokusai manga (begun in 1814) and the block prints Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, (created around 1823-1829), which includes "In the Hollow of a Wave off the Coast at Kanagawa." He is still considered one of the outstanding figures of the ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating world" (transient pleasure-seeking, i.e., the world of theaters, restaurants, teahouses, courtesans and geishas), school of printmaking. Hokusai is also renowned for his erotic prints in shunga style. In fact many of the prints of both Hokusai and Sharaku were actually advertisements for brothel houses and theaters, performances or idol portraits of actors and teahouse girls. His art was an important source of inspiration for many European impressionists like Claude Monet and American artist James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903).

The largest of Hokusai's works is the 15-volume collection Hokusai Manga, a book crammed with inventive sketches that was published between 1814 -1878. Its caricatures are often considered the precedent to modern manga.

Literally translated, manga means "random (or whimsical) pictures". The word first came into common usage in the late 18th century, with the publication of such works as Suzuki Kankei's "Mankaku zuihitsu" (1771) and Santo Kyoden's picturebook "Shiji no yukikai" (1798)?and in the early 19th century with such works as Aikawa Minwa's "Manga hyakujo" (1814) and the celebrated Hokusai manga containing assorted drawings from the sketchbook of Hokusai.