March 29th

White horses gallop

Leaping over the coral

Unremitting wave

 

Was looking at one of my birthday presents today, a book from Debbie about Hokusai’s great wave. It’s a wood block (cherry wood) print from the Japanese Edo period (approx 1829- 33) of (as you would expect) a great wave. It’s caught at its apex and it looks like it will crash down onto the insignificant boats below it. Mount Fuji looks tiny in the background, giving the impression that the boatmen are far from shore and are facing a likely death.

It truly is a testament to the raw strength and power of nature. The British Museum has chosen it as one of their 100 objects from their radio series “A history of the world in 100 objects”, number 93 in fact. I’ve got them all downloaded on my iphone as podcasts (free). Well worth a listen. The podcast itself gives some Art History background to the image, talking of Japan’s insularity at the time the image was made, giving some sense of allegory about the image and Japan’s place in the world.

Looking at the print literally however, I’ve always had a healthy respect, I’d go so far to say, a fear, of the sea. I don’t like being out of my depth. I’m not a great swimmer. The ancient fear of being smote (smited?) by a sea god still lingers somewhere in my psyche. I wouldn’t take the sea for granted.

But, being by the sea, the smell of salt, soft sand underfoot, seafood, the sound of gulls, the persistent lapping of the waves, there’s no better place to be for me. It’s fair to say that I do like to be beside the seaside.