How Much Is The Great Wave off Kanagawa Worth?

The Great Wave is Hokusai’s most iconic image and one of the most recognizable works in world art. It anchors the Thirty‑Six Views of Mount Fuji series and symbolizes the Edo period’s technical and aesthetic advances. Its outsized cultural footprint drives persistent, global demand among museums and advanced private collectors. Because the work is not unique (ukiyo‑e is a multiple), significance alone does not fix price; however, it ensures deep bidder pools whenever strong impressions appear and underpins a durable top‑end ceiling set by recent multi‑million‑dollar results. This factor is a primary reason the print outperforms most other Japanese prints by a substantial margin.

Earlier impressions—often on better paper with saturated Prussian blue, crisp key‑block lines, refined bokashi, and sometimes discernible woodgrain in the sky—command large premiums. As the woodblocks wore, later impressions softened in line and gradation, and certain details coarsened. Connoisseurs also weigh publisher/series cartouche clarity and early state traits. These attributes directly correlate to outcomes: mid‑tier impressions reliably trade around $0.7–$0.9m, while best‑of‑type early impressions reach $2.7–$3.0m. Accordingly, our mid‑market estimate presumes an average‑to‑good Edo impression rather than an absolute early masterpiece, which would warrant a multi‑million‑dollar target.

Color freshness (especially the blues), even toning, minimal foxing, and the absence of tears, wormholes, thinning, or over‑restoration are critical. Margin width is particularly important: full or unusually wide margins are prized, whereas trimming into the image can be value‑destructive. Professional conservation history, if present, should be transparent and reversible. The price spread from roughly $0.5m to nearly $0.9m (and onward to $2.7m+) in recent years is largely explained by condition and margins interacting with impression quality. Our estimate assumes decent, intact margins and no significant structural issues or over‑cleaning that would impair originality.

Impressions with distinguished provenance (notable private collections or museums), robust documentation, and inclusion in scholarly publications or major exhibitions tend to outperform. These attributes can validate authenticity and state, reduce buyer risk, and catalyze competitive bidding. The 2025 record example deaccessioned by a museum shows how institutional provenance can attract premium attention. Conversely, undocumented or recently surfaced impressions without literature/exhibition history can still sell well if quality is strong, but the absence of a proven track record typically narrows bidding bands. For the mid‑market estimate offered, we assume sound but not exceptional provenance.