Katsushika Hokusai was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e artist, and printmaker. Ukiyo-e, meaning “pictures of the floating world,” was a genre of art that flourished in Japan between the 17th and 19th centuries. Ukiyo-e focused on subjects popular amongst the growing urban merchant class, such as courtesans, kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, and erotica. Hokusai was a prolific ukiyo-e artist, but he ultimately moved away from the genre’s traditional subjects to depict landscapes and images of everyday life.