The Great Wave

I recently stumbled upon this intriguing article that gave me a deeper appreciation for the iconic The Great Wave. It pointed out details that I had overlooked, like how Mount Fuji quietly sits in the background, or how those tiny boats battle against the overpowering wave.

The article brought up a fascinating point: wave has ‘claws’, which seem to reach out as if alive. But what struck me most was this thought:

The Great Wave could have been even more daunting for its first Japanese audience.

Because Japanese writing reads from right to left, early viewers of the piece likely saw the boaters before encountering the monstrous wave. Instead of being carried along with the flow, as we might experience, they would have been hit with the sheer force of the wave head-on. It’s a subtle shift, but once you see it that way, the artwork feels even more dramatic.

Original Post https://akhan.me/the-great-wave/