The Great Wave's real title is 神奈川沖浪裏 (Kanagawa-oki nami-ura), which means "under the wave off Kanagawa". Taken apart, 神奈川 is Kanagawa, 沖 (oki) is the open sea off a coast, 浪 (nami) is wave, and 裏 (ura) is the back or underside of something.
It is worth knowing before you stand in front of the real one. Dulwich Picture Gallery is showing Hokusai: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji from the Iuchi Collection from 20 October 2026 to 17 January 2027. The gallery says it is the first time the complete series, all 46 prints, has been shown together in the UK. I have no connection with the gallery, and the show hasn't opened as I write this. These are the things I'd want in my head walking in.
What 裏 is doing there
Ura is the side you don't normally see. Jisho's meanings for the character run from "back" and "reverse" to "inside", "lining" and "wrong side". So the title is about the underside of the wave, the hollow the boats are rowing into. The Met's note on its own impression says Hokusai made Japan's grandest mountain "appear as a small triangular mound within the hollow of the cresting wave".
One dictionary footnote. Look up 浪 and Jisho gives only the reading rō. Here it is read nami, as another way of writing 波, the usual character for wave.
I've written before about where the 裏 on two of my tees comes from, along with the blue and the print run, so I won't repeat it.
Three things to look for
The box in the top left. The title sits in a rectangular frame and reads 冨嶽三十六景, then 神奈川沖, then 浪裏: the series, the place, the wave. The series title is Fugaku sanjūrokkei. Fugaku means Mount Fuji, 三十六 is thirty-six and 景 (kei) is a view. To the left of the box is the signature, Hokusai aratame Iitsu hitsu: from the brush of Hokusai, who changed his name to Iitsu.
The direction. Vertical Japanese runs from right to left, and some argue the picture is best read the same way. Do that and you meet the three boats first, with the wave coming at them. They are oshiokuri-bune, fast boats that carried live fish to the markets of Edo Bay, with eight rowers each.
The size. The Met's impression measures 25.7 by 37.9 cm. It is a small thing to have become this famous.
The other famous one
The gallery's highlights include a rare variant of Red Fuji, which it says has never been seen in the UK. The print's title is 凱風快晴 (Gaifū kaisei). 凱風 (gaifū) is a southerly wind, and the gallery gives the full title as "Clear Day with a Southern Breeze".
Getting there
Dulwich Picture Gallery is at 14 Gallery Road, London SE21 7AD. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, and closed on Mondays. Adult tickets start at £21.50 including a donation, and members go free. I checked those details on 6 October 2026, so look at the gallery's page before you travel.
Where I come in
I'm the founder of 5C5V, a UK brand making Japanese-inspired clothing. One tee in my Edo Collection, the Katsushika Hokusai 裏 Edition, is my own homage to Red Fuji. It is original artwork, not a reproduction, and it takes its name from the last character of the wave's title.
Questions people ask
What is the Great Wave's real title?
Its title is 神奈川沖浪裏 (Kanagawa-oki nami-ura), which means "under the wave off Kanagawa". It is one print from Hokusai's series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽三十六景, Fugaku sanjūrokkei).
What does 裏 (ura) mean in the Great Wave's title?
裏 (ura) means the back, reverse or underside of something. In the title it places the viewer under the wave, in the hollow where the boats are.
When is the Hokusai exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery?
Hokusai: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji from the Iuchi Collection runs from 20 October 2026 to 17 January 2027 at Dulwich Picture Gallery in London. The gallery says it shows the complete series of 46 prints.
Written by the founder of 5C5V. I design every collection from Copenhagen, built around five Japanese cities and the virtue each one stands for. Questions about a design, sizing or an order? Email matthew@5c5v.co.uk. It comes straight to me. More about 5C5V.
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